Michael Sullivan

Library Mall
UW-Madison
Madison, WI
4/17/2025

Several hundred students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members gathered in Library Mall on the UW-Madison campus to show support for UW and higher education in Wisconsin! The rally was hosted by the TAA-Madison (The Graduate Worker Union of UW-Madison).

From the event description:

Join us on April 17th to stand up for higher ed! We are demanding protections for international students, meet & confer, a living wage, guaranteed funding, 12 weeks of paid leave, and a commitment to intellectual freedom & autonomy in the classroom.

To fight Trump's intimidation, censorship, and austerity, we demand:

1. An ongoing Meet-and-Confer relationship so that UW Madison and its workers can respond to dynamic threats to higher education together, and that workers have input for major University decisions that affect their work life
2. That UW-Madison join the Big 10 Mutual Defense Compact and commit to share resources and strategic support among all 18 of the Big 10 universities in defense of academic freedom, institutional integrity, and the research enterprise
3. Clear communication from state officials and UW administration:
   
   1. That UW and UWPD will continue UWPD’s policy of not providing information to or cooperating with ICE
   2. That UW staff and instructors should not let ICE into private spaces, including classrooms, labs, and offices, without a judicial warrant
   3. Providing timely alerts of ICE activity on or near campus
   4. Providing legal and administrative support for students and workers facing deportation or attacks on their status in the US. Specifically, contesting the visa revocations that have recently been inflicted upon students and staff and committing to allowing affected students to continue their studies from abroad
4. A living wage for graduate workers, including remission of all mandatory fees
5. Full funding of all existing commitments to graduate workers, including multi-year funding guarantees
6. Twelve weeks of paid family and medical leave
7. A commitment to intellectual freedom and autonomy in the classroom, in research, and in all aspects of campus life, including intellectual ownership of all research and teaching materials

Note: I am not affiliated with any political organizations. I am an independent freelance photographer covering marches, protests, and rallies in Madison, Wisconsin, documenting the people's right to free speech and their right to organize.