Tampa students, community members march against diversity cutbacks
Tampa, FL – On April 1, about 15 students from the University of South Florida and community members marched in support of diversity and in opposition to cutbacks.
News and Views from the People's Struggle
Tampa, FL – On April 1, about 15 students from the University of South Florida and community members marched in support of diversity and in opposition to cutbacks.
Baton Rouge, LA – On Monday April 1, Louisiana State University students celebrated Trans Day of Visibility at the campus’s Parade Grounds to resist Louisiana's transphobic legislation, as well as an anti-trans administrative policy.
Minneapolis, MN – On March 29, the Divest UMN Coalition at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mobilized more than 50 students to celebrate a historic victory in the movement for divestment in apartheid Israel by the university.
Tampa, FL – On March 29, around 20 students gathered in front of the University of South Florida library to participate in a vigil held by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to celebrate the life of, and demand justice for, Nex Benedict.
Tacoma, WA – On March 20, about 50 people gathered in Tollefson Plaza for a protest in solidarity with Rafah organized by School Of The Arts Students For A Democratic Society (SOTA SDS). Through this action, the protesters stood in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and demanded an end of U.S. aid to Israel.
Tampa, FL- On Tuesday March 19, about 15 students met at the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida to rally in defense of diversity on their campus.
This protest was organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society SDS), an active force on the campus around protecting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Student protesters shouted, “DEI is welcome here” and that the university president Rhea Law, is “no good.”
Milwaukee, WI – On March 14, protesters rallied in front of Chancellor Mark Mone’s mansion demanding UW-Milwaukee cut ties with Israel. Despite the constant rain and cops tailing the caravan headed to the mansion, the protesters remained steadfast in their commitment to the campaign to cut ties with genocide.
New Orleans – On March 16, 13 courageous members of Tulane Students for a Democratic Society carried out a die-in on campus to protest the school’s partnership with Israel. The demonstrators occupied the school’s central building during the nationally attended and Tulane-hosted New Orleans Bookfest. The festival is hosted by the university once a year and brings in thousands of attendees to watch panels and talks by well-known authors and public figures.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 14 statement from Tulane Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Official Statement on Battery of Tulane Student by Professor Walter Isaacson
On March 13th, a Tulane student and member of Students for a Democratic Society, Rory Macdonald, was assaulted by Walter Isaacson, a Tulane professor and board member. Macdonald was protesting a Tulane-sponsored New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week panel titled “Energy Innovation at Scale” featuring Louisiana State University, ExxonMobil, and Halliburton. Isaacson, an audience member, grabbed Rory and cursed at them, battering them and leaving them with bruises on their arm and scratches on their back. The encounter was captured in multiple videos. Tulane has done nothing to protect Arab students and members of SDS from repeated harassment and threats from Zionist students, and now one of our members has been assaulted by a member of the faculty.
Minneapolis – On March 12, just 16 hours after being notified that the Consul General of Israel Yinam Cohen was meeting with University of Minnesota Vice President Croson, along with a group of Zionist community leaders, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) pulled together an emergency protest and march starting outside of the Coffman Student Union. Protesters demanded an end to the ties between the university and the state of Israel.