Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 08:03:14 -0500 (CDT) From: Jeffrey W Merrick Subject: Arrests >Greetings, >I don't know if you've heard or not yet, but five students were arrested >last weekend for chalking on campus. Some of the things they wrote >included: > >Respect Women >Listen to Women's Music >Teach Girls to Love Their Bodies >I was Raped in Sandburg Halls >Queer Power >Free Mumia >Think > >UWM's policy on chalking is vague and indecisive. In 1998 or so, the >Student Associatin passed legislation making chalking on campus legal. It >was forwarded thru the proper channels to Dean Hill and Dr. Maryl, and >seems to be lost in some university committee right now. While the >legislation has been in process for the last three years, the university >police have enforeced the policy at their discretion; some organizatins >chalk messages with no problems while others are issued citations for >chalking. The fine for chalking is $214, a hefty sum for students. > >In this particular instance the students involved were arrested and >detained for over six hours by university police, and one student received >a $400 fine for refusing to talk to university police wthout legal >councel. One of the officers commented that had the content of the >chalking been different they "probably" would not have gotten in trouble, >ie. it's ok to write "free pizza", not ok to write "respect women", etc. > >The students are currently filing complaints against the universtiy police >and have contacted the American Civil Liberties Union to represent them in >this matter. Given the nature of the incident, the fact that the messages >were deemed inappropriate because of thier pro-woman/pro-queer content, >can the Women's Studies department advocate on their behalf within the >university structure? > >Please contact me with futher questions and your opinion. >Thank you, >Amy Daroszeski >College Feminists, President (email: ) Jeffrey Merrick, Professor of History Director of Graduate Studies, History Coordinator, French and Francophone Studies Certificate Program Coordinator, LGBT Studies Certificate Program Chair, L&S Course and Curriculum Committee jmerrick@uwm.edu (414) 229-4924 (fax -2435) http://www.uwm.edu/People/jmerrick 330 Holton Hall History, UWM, P O Box 413, Milwaukee WI 53201