I❤️UW-Fourth Anniversary of Wisconsin Uprising

February 15, 2015 by Leslie Amsterdam

Frigid temperatures with below zero wind chills did not keep several hundred citizens from celebrating the fourth anniversary of the I❤️UW rally of February 14, 2011, which ignited the Wisconsin Uprising.

StoptheCuts-SaveUW February 14, 2015

UW Faculty Organizing for Change hosted this year’s Stop the Cuts-SaveUW rally as a response to a proposed 300 million dollar cut in state aid to the UW System in Wisconsin Governor Walker’s new budget. The event was emceed by Brandi Grayson of the Young Gifted & Black Coalition and included calls to action from UW-Milwaukee faculty Lane Hall and UW-Madison faculty Karma Chavez, UW-Madison student Deshawn McKinney, WI State Representative Chris Taylor, MTEA President Bob Peterson, Jeremy Beloungy-staff UW-Madison and Ms. Grayson. Call and response chants energized the crowd between speakers.

StoptheCuts-SaveUW February 14, 2015

Brandi Grayson YG&B Coalition StoptheCuts-SaveUW February 14, 2015

All speeches touched on the central theme of how budget cuts to public education institutions disproportionately affect particular communities and how all citizens must stand up and demand change and the necessary investments in our future or “shut it down”. Overpass Light Brigade hosted an evening vigil on Bascom Hill where the illuminated message I❤️UW and Fund the Wisconsin Idea warmed up a dangerously cold evening. Here are more of the sights and sounds: