Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Dozens of students and community members protested Karl Rove at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) on April 25. Karl Rove was George W. Bush’s Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff, and among those responsible for engineering the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan which have cost millions of lives. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led their second protest against Rove, demanding Rove return an estimated $50,000 he has been paid for two visits to the school. SDS demanded that money go to Iraqi and Afghani children who have suffered at the hands of U.S. occupation.

Students formed a picket line in front of the registration table, chanting “No Justice, no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East!” The energy of the protest was compounded by the fact that UWM students were locked out of the event – which was paid for by their own student fees. Seeing hundreds of empty seats inside, dozens of protesters attempted to enter the event. Almost all of them were turned away by the extremely heavy police presence. As the protest moved toward the doors to the event, school officials threatened to have SDS members arrested. Still, several people managed to disrupt the event from inside.

The money awarded to Rove was approved by a student government committee headed by the president of the College Republicans. At the same time, the committee denied funding to oppressed nationality groups such as the Black Student Union, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA).

As Wisconsin’s governor attempts to slash funding and privatize UWM, his allies in the College Republicans continue to steal student money from this working class university to pay representatives of the extremely wealthy ruling class such as Karl Rove and Ann Coulter. Their willingness to rob working students and oppressed nationality student organizations is in line with the attacks coming from Governor Walker’s office. SDS has joined campus unions in fighting back against the right-wing attacks represented by Rove and Walker.

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