On Wednesday May 15th, UW President Cauce sent out an email in response to an escalation of tactics by demonstrators at the Liberated Zone the night before. This email was full of lies and propaganda, but its existence shows that escalatory and radical actions have real power. These tactics should continue to escalate until the university concedes.

As part of these escalation tactics she alleges that ‘antisemetic’ graffiti was found, yet she never provides us with any examples of what was written that could be seen as antisemitic, leaving us to question the validity of these claims. It is a commonly used tactic of deniers of the Palestinian genocide and Zionists to falsely charge proponents of Palestinian liberation with antisemitism. According to the clowns at the US congress, for example, the popular chant ‘from the river to the sea’ is somehow antisemitism, so there’s a good chance that was what was written. Anti-zionism is not antisemitism, and it is antisemetic to associate every Jewish person with Zionism. In addition, these are strong words from Cauce who just months ago dragged and mangled students out of Gerberding, many of whom were Jewish.

We should not be deterred by Cauce’s email at all. In fact, we should be emboldened. The fact that she felt compelled to send this email at all is a sign that escalatory actions like this are what grab attention from administrators and people in power. They can ignore peaceful protests, they can gaslight negotiators, but they can’t ignore more radical action.

The increased emphasis on autonomy and radical action may be a sign that the tides are changing for the better within the Liberated Zone and the UF. Only time will tell. For anyone involved, don’t be deterred by Cauce’s lies. Administration will act all cool, but escalatory tactics are the one thing that really gets them. Keep at it, stay safe, and kick ass.