Chants could be heard rising from Library Mall Friday afternoon as a group of University of Wisconsin students, faculty and community members gathered for the Madison Solidarity Rally in support of protests at the University of California-Davis.
Sparked by recent events in which a UC-Davis police officer pepper sprayed student protesters, UW professors, students and members of Madison’s Occupy movement spoke out against police action against peaceful protesters and to support students occupying for affordable education.
UW associate professor Sara Goldrick-Rab was one of the leader’s of the event and said political action is necessary on college campuses nationwide to call for affordable, high-quality education.
“Occupy for public colleges and universities now to make sure that all of this country’s kids can afford to do so,” Goldrick-Rab said.
Another large component of the rally dealt with recent acts of violence that occurred during Occupy movements at the University of California-Berkeley and UC-Davis.
UW professor Ellen Samuels expressed her admiration for Celeste Langan, a member of UC-Berkeley’s English department.
Samuels said Langan stood amongst students in civil disobedience and asked to be arrested in order to protect her students. Langan then had her hair pulled and was shoved to the ground, according to Samuels.
“It is becoming clearer than ever that we are living in a new and dangerous period of American politics,” Samuels said. “I am honored to know Celeste and hope my colleagues and I can be as brave as she was in standing up for our students and for social and economic justice.”
As circulated by viral videos and national media coverage, Occupy UC-Davis reached an apex of tension Nov. 18 when police deployed canisters of pepper spray on protesters.
Ten arrests were made following the incident, including UC-Davis student Alyson Cook.
Cook said the event shines a light on what is currently occurring in the UC System and campuses such as rising prices, cuts in classes and departments and limiting poorer communities from public education.
She emphasized that students actions that week were in solidarity with UC-Berkeley and that the reaction may be detracting from this message.
“People were arbitrarily chosen to be arrested,” Cook said in an interview with The Badger Herald. “There was no provocation of police.”
UC-Davis Police Chief Annetee Spicuzza, currently on administrative leave, defended the use of chemical agents in a UC-Davis news statement, stating students had “encircled” the officers, blocking their exit.
Leland Pan, a member of Student Labor Action Coalition, said these events proved the importance of the Occupy movement. The focus should be on tuition affordability, Pan said, drawing a parallel between California and the UW System.
“I would urge that we continue to stand up as we have done today, to tackle the real problem which is the criminals on Wall Street and not the peaceful protesters standing up for their first amendment rights, their university rights, and not only the people of California, but also of the United States and the world,” Pan said.
