NEWS
Overnight sit-in ends with arrests
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Also by James Davison:
- Students vote 'no' on union (April 8, 2005)
- Overnight sit-in ends with arrests (December 13, 2004)
- Asian tsunami's devastation extends to college students (January 17, 2005)
- Bowl ticket sales kick off (December 2, 2004)
- UW names official (December 6, 2004)
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- Police arrest 4 sit-in protesters (November 19, 2004)
by James Davison
Monday, December 13, 2004
Following an overnight sit-in protest, 18 people, mostly University of Wisconsin students, were arrested Friday evening after refusing to leave Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s office in the City-County Building.
After officers told protestors the building was closed for the weekend and they were asked to leave, several group members departed and the remaining were charged with trespassing, according to a police release.
UW sophomore Caleigh Mandel-Brehm, who was one of the protesters, said everyone was given $288 citations for trespassing, while 15 people — five of which were homeless — were also given $412 citations for resisting arrest.
“[We] went limp and police took us out on a dolly one by one,” she added.
The sit-in protest followed a rally and march to the mayor’s office Thursday afternoon that was sponsored by the Madison Warming Center Campaign. The protesters demanded the mayor make a commitment to allocate funds for an emergency homeless shelter for the approaching winter, according to Mandel-Brehm.
“We understood that if 5 p.m. rolled around we would be arrested,” she said, adding when Cieslewicz released a statement in response to their protest, they decided it did not meet their demands, and they would stay as long as possible.
The mayor’s statement said the city has been aggressively addressing issues facing homeless people in Madison, and the city is already providing emergency shelters, warming houses and services to solve the issue of homelessness.
“Homelessness is an issue that I take very seriously, and it is one that we have made a major investment in addressing,” Cieslewicz said in the release. “We have focused these investments … on permanent solutions that address the root causes of poverty and homelessness.”
The mayor also proposed holding a community meeting this week to determine if more emergency shelter space is necessary for this winter.
“No one person or group has all the answers, so I am eager to hear from all of the stakeholders who are involved in the different facets of this issue,” Cieslewicz said.
Mandel-Brehm said the meeting would not be enough because it is closed to the public, and the panel is made up of people who are “strongly against” the use of additional funds for a warming center.
“We think the meeting should be public … [and] we are continuing to pressure that this meeting have other representatives,” she said.
UW sophomore Nathan Fuller, another arrested protestor, was involved with the founding of the warming center campaign. He said he hopes the city will be willing to “take responsibility” for the homelessness issue.
“I think the mayor and people who deal with homelessness all believe that [it] is an issue that needs to be addressed,” Fuller said, calling the experience “empowering.”
“The city not only has the capacity, but an obligation to take action on homelessness in Madison,” he added.
Mandel-Brehm said they will continue to fight if their requests are not addressed further.
“We feel like we have just begun the fight. We’re planning on keeping up the pressure,” she said. “I think we made huge gains with our sit-in … [and Cieslewicz] is shaking in his boots.”
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 6:36am):
"I think we made huge gains with our sit-in ... [and Cieslewicz] is shaking in his boots."
Not after the cops came along and hauled you all away he isn't. What you assholes did accomplished nothing. Isn't there some other way you can work for a cause? Can't you all just start a fundraiser or something to build this "warming center" you want so badly? How about soliciting donations of building materials? How about asking your favorite pop musicians and actors to make charitable contributions?
State and local governments can only solve the problem by raising taxes, which are already too high. Where does it end? You'll have to look elsewhere for tea and sympathy, because the City of Madison is already stretched to the max.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 9:03am):
Did you guys take up nice warm jail cells that would normally be inhabited by homeless people? Shame on you!
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 9:17am):
You should have had a sit-in in the Capitol. They're the jerks that have dramatically cut funding for social services, not the city.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 11:46am):
I am glad to see students dedicating themselves towards a worthy cause. There was one thing I didn't see in the article. After the arrests are made and the city decides it cannot or will not allocate the extra money, how far do these students go? Do they invite those homeless into their homes for a hot meal and to get warm, or do they go on their way to get ready for another protest and leave the homeless where they sit?
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 12:29pm):
wow, those were some hefty fines you guys earned yourselves. lets see according to the newspaper at least $6,180 worth, and that was only for the 15 given the additional fines. Seems to me if you have money to spend here, why not spend it on the homeless shelter you so despertly want. And how is a homeless person going to come up with that $412 and $288 fine? We all know the answer to that, he/she won't, which means it'll again come out of taxpayers pockets. With regards to this comment "He hopes the city will be willing to take responsibility for the homeless issue" i have a question, why should it be the city's responsibility, which really means taxpayers', for the bums lack of motivation? If they can spend all day panhandling on the street corner, why not take those hours and get a real job? If you want to make a stand do so without costing the city extra money, money that could be spent toward actually building shelters instead of dealing with ignorant protestors.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 2:09pm):
I don't have a problem with the marching or even the sit-in. I think that is an effective way to bring issues to light; however, getting arrested doesn't get you closer to reaching your goal. The last comment said you all spent at least $6180 on tickets, or maybe your parents did. I know when I was at Madison I couldn't afford an extra $400-$600 for being stupid. You could have put that towards a shelter or even sublet a couple apartments for that. Goal reached, homeless get warm and hot showers. My guess is you do want to help, but it's more important to get your name and face in a paper.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 3:19pm):
You forgot to mention that after they got arrested they went to their nice warm homes to eat pizza...how funny is that.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 3:21pm):
I highly doubt Mayor Dave is shaking in his boots ... he is probably annoyed by the stupidity of these protesters.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 5:12pm):
Ironically, HUD has all sorts of extra money allocated to housing for the homeless. Why not try to navigate city funding for that?
Well, I guess we have our cause du jour for next semester. Which bands are going to play a benefit to pay the protester's fines? How about "hip-hop against homelessness" where they don't play anything good like the Diplomats, Peddi Crack or Mobb Deep because it's not "conscious.'
In this, here's a real cause: force the University to put up more money for students who are having a hard time paying.
Oh, sorry, that's a realistic goal.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 5:47pm):
I have an idea...let's just give all homeless people a free house---panhandling is way too much work and lord knows we should encourage the deadbeats to come to Madison.
Anonymous (December 13, 2004 @ 11:44pm):
I agree with the poster who said we should by the homeless bus tickets to leave the state. That's how they got here in the first place.
Anonymous (December 15, 2004 @ 7:30pm):
Wow, the only time you guys seem to be passionate about a social cause is when you protest Michael Moore coming to UW. You guys are really really....just wow. You should try supporting a social awareness issue one day, maybe it'll make you realize how much you all look like total selfish assholes.
