Act now to protect students, workers, and community members

Rebecca Blank, UW–Madison Chancellor; Tommy Thompson, UW System President

UW–Madison Chancellor Blank and UW System President Tommy Thompson have created a public health crisis at UW–Madison and in Dane County, leading to new record-high cases of COVID-19 while expanding policing on campus. The university's reopening plans have placed the most precarious students and workers, Black and marginalized people, disabled/immunocompromised people, houseless and undocumented people, and poor people in life-threatening danger. The university seems to care more about its budget and creditors than people’s lives. This is unacceptable.

We demand that you take immediate action to:

  • Defend Public Health: Implement robust and transparent plans for testing, contact tracing, and campus safety; shift to virtual learning and de-densify campus safely; provide no-cost quarantine accommodations
  • Put People Over Profit: Provide continuity of employment, pay, and benefits for all workers during the pandemic; freeze rent and offer flexible leases for University Housing; provide no-strings-attached caregiving grants to all students and workers who need them; allow healthcare plans to be maintained at no additional cost during leaves of absence
  • Invest in an Inclusive Campus: Meet the demands of the BIPOC Student Coalition; permanently fund diversity, equity, and inclusion committees for all departments; protect international students from threats to visa status and permanently repeal International Student Fee; invest in community-based transformative justice initiatives and mental health counselors of color
  • Disarm and Demilitarize the University: Immediately cut 50% of the University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD) annual budget with a plan to fully defund by 2025 and reallocate these funds to inclusive campus initiatives above; instate lethal weapons ban and chemical irritants ban (e.g. CS Gas) for UWPD; refuse cooperation with the Madison Police Department (MPD) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Support Virtual Learning: Provide no-cost access to internet and technology; adopt campus-wide flexible attendance and assignment policies; provide option of satisfactory disruption / unsatisfactory disruption grading

UW–Madison administrators chose a dangerous plan over the demands of students, workers, community member, and elected leaders:

This petition will not—on its own—be enough to push Chancellor Blank and President Thompson to do the right thing. By signing this petition, you are helping to demonstrate the broad support for these demands. You are also showing that you are willing to take further action to push the university to protect students, workers, and community members.

The university works because we do.

Please click here for more details about the TAA Platform for a Safe & Moral Restart.

Sponsored by
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Madison, WI

To: Rebecca Blank, UW–Madison Chancellor; Tommy Thompson, UW System President
From: [Your Name]

We demand that you take immediate action to:

Defend Public Health: Implement robust and transparent plans for testing, contact tracing, and campus safety; shift to virtual learning and de-densify campus safely; provide no-cost quarantine accommodations

Put People Over Profit: provide continuity of employment, pay, and benefits for all workers during the pandemic; freeze rent and offer flexible leases for University Housing; provide no-strings-attached caregiving grants to all students and workers who need them; allow healthcare plans to be maintained at no additional cost during leaves of absence

Invest in an Inclusive Campus: Meet the demands of the BIPOC Student Coalition; permanently fund diversity, equity, and inclusion committees for all departments; protect international students from threats to visa status and permanently repeal International Student Fee; invest in community-based transformative justice initiatives and mental health counselors of color

Disarm and Demilitarize the University: Immediately cut 50% of the University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD) annual budget and reallocate these funds to inclusive campus initiatives above; instate lethal weapons ban and chemical irritants ban (e.g. CS Gas) for UWPD; refuse cooperation with the Madison Police Department (MPD) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Support Virtual Learning: provide no-cost access to internet and technology; adopt campus-wide flexible attendance and assignment policies; provide option of satisfactory disruption / unsatisfactory disruption grading