If students cannot deal with one another with civility and mutual respect on campus, if they cannot express their opinions without intimidating others, if the words and symbols of hatred are allowed to go unchallenged, then the university cannot fulfill its core educational mission. Last Thursday events took place on Spaights Plaza, which have cast a shadow over this campus.

On Thursday, Jewish Student Services-Hillel planned a day of fun and entertainment to commemorate the 62nd birthday of the State of Israel. Unfortunately, the day ended with an altercation between Muslim and Jewish students that resulted in an arrest.

The morning of the celebration began on a sour note as Jewish students and Hillel Executive Director Heidi Rattner arrived to find that Spaights Plaza outside the UWM Union had been covered the night before with anti-Semitic and anti-Israel graffiti that even included a swastika. Calls to “Free Palestine” and statements equating Israel with apartheid were side by side with even more hate-filled graffiti that cannot be repeated. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, members of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Students for a Democratic Society admitted to writing the political messages but not the swastika.

Such blatant ignorance and intolerance was not going to stop us from enjoying our day and the event continued in spite of the ranting of small-minded individuals with chalk. A rock climbing wall provided a centerpiece for the day’s festivities along with snacks and a birthday cake for Israel that went rather quickly. Loudspeakers played popular Israeli tunes and tables with displays highlighting Israeli technological advances that revolutionized our world alongside famous Jews were on hand to help educate our fellow students about the amazing positive impacts that have come from a tiny country the size of New Jersey. Despite standing on and around the abundance of hate speech directed towards us, the mood was most definitely jovial. This was not to last, however.

According to the report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a group of students who are members of the Muslim Student Association joined the celebration around noon and disrupted the event. After intimidating several students with words and actions they were asked to move to the area set aside in the plaza for free speech.

The students from the MSA waved Palestinian flags and continued to make derogatory comments toward the Jewish students attending the event. Although the representatives from the MSA were asked several times to move to the area designated for such speech they blatantly refused to comply with school officials.

Members of the MSA continued to re-enter the area reserved for the event after being told they were not welcome due to their disruptiveness. The Journal Sentinel quoted MSA President Yamin Masalkhi saying that “some of the hotheads in our group” scaled the climbing wall and hung a Palestinian flag from the top. The flag was promptly removed by an employee of Adventure Rock, which led to the altercation, the injury of the Jewish student and the arrest of his alleged assailant.

Since the incident, the president of the Muslim Student Association has met with Hillel leaders and apologized for the behavior of his members. This is a positive step and we hope that it indicates a sincere commitment to renounce these tactics of intimidation in the future. We also look forward to meeting with representatives of the administration to review what took place on Thursday and what might have been done to promote harmony rather than fear. Important lessons must be drawn from this incident to ensure that every student on this campus feels secure.

This incident was not only contrary to the mission of this university, it was an affront to the very values that we hold dear as Americans. We call on every member of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee community – faculty, administrators and students alike — to make this a campus free of hatred, intolerance and intimidation. If we believe in everything this school and this country stands for, we can do no less.

Winter Guite is a UWM student.