UW-Milwaukee is playing hardball with a student leader—so hard that the student, M. Samir Siddique, sought a temporary restraining order in court against the university.

Siddique, a pre-law senior who is on track to graduate in May, won the UWM Student Association presidency in spring 2014, but the administration doesn’t recognize his organization or his claim to the presidency.

The administration says it approves of and recognizes a rival organization, the Student Association at UWM.

This summer, UWM administrators had attempted to force Siddique to send an email—approved by them—to 1,300 students who petitioned to reform student government. The email would disavow his position as a student government leader and explain that the administration didn’t recognize the student association he leads.

If Siddique didn’t send the email by Sept. 2, the administration would have prevented him from attending classes this fall.

But Siddique didn’t send the email and his case is being heard in circuit court. On Aug. 29, Judge Glenn Yamahiro ordered that UWM couldn’t discipline Siddique, while Siddique couldn’t represent himself as an officer of student government or that his organization is the legitimate student government. That injunction remains in effect until Sept. 30. Siddique’s original case will proceed.

In addition to the administration’s order to send the email or else, Siddique has been investigated by the university, was subjected to a closed-door nonacademic misconduct hearing in which he didn’t know all of the charges against him, and had his First Amendment right to free speech threatened by the university, he claims in his suit.

“I think it’s such an utter disrespect for the law,” Siddique told the Shepherd. “It’s so outrageous. I sometimes ask myself if it’s worth it, but I know that for years on students will come and [the administration] will do the same thing and treat those students the same way. It’s not right.”

Siddique said the administration has violated his and his fellow students’ right to fully participate in shared governance of university affairs and financial decisions.

“We’re talking about a democratic process that was completely disrespected,” Siddique said.

A UWM spokesman said he could not comment on pending legal matters.

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Big Financial Questions

UWM’s student government conflict goes back to early 2013, when then-Chancellor Mike Lovell dissolved student government and the administration appointed a board of trustees instead. The administration also promoted a new governing constitution, which it circulated as an email with no public debate. The measure passed by a wide margin, but fewer than 500 of UWM’s 28,000 students voted on it.

“It had all the components of a classic coup,” Siddique said.

The new constitution increases the role of the administration in student affairs, Siddique says, violating the concept of shared governance. Shared governance is written into state statutes and assures students, administration, faculty and staff all have a say in decisions affecting UW System schools.

Siddique would have been a member of the student government that had been dissolved in 2013 and attempted to set up a new student government and constitution. More than 1,300 of his supporters petitioned the administration to call out the appointed board of trustees as illegitimate and push for a new constitution and elections. He helped to organize new student elections and ran for president and won.

Siddique contends that the administration didn’t want students to have a say in big financial matters facing the university, including the distribution of more than $28 million in student fees, or $649 per full-time student per semester; the $160 million budgeted for a new student union; as well as the money spent on Panther Fest, a festival for students each fall.

The new, official constitution and student government would give the administration a bigger voice in these decisions, Siddique said.

“It’s a huge amount of money,” Siddique said. “You can understand why they’d want to take control of it.”