Chicago, IL – On Monday, October 24 more than a dozen activists from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Anakbayan, a patriotic Filipino youth organization, and Young Democratic Socialists of America joined together for a demonstration. Students marched on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ROTC building to denounce the Biden administration’s intervention in Haiti and demand an end to the 12-year long UN occupation of the island. The protest was planned in connection with the United National Anti-War Coalition’s week of action.
Denver, CO – On Wednesday, October 26, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) attended the Auraria Board of Directors meeting on Auraria campus to demand that the Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) withdraw from the Federal 1033 program. The 1033 program, also called the LESO Excess Property Program, allows ACPD to acquire military weapons and other equipment from the Department of Defense. There are currently over 8000 police departments, including many campus police departments, participating in this program.
Tallahassee, FL – On October 20, students at Florida State University, led by FSU Students for a Democratic Society (FSU SDS) gathered to counter-protest an on campus appearance by conservative mouthpiece Charlie Kirk. Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a national organization that peddles racist, homophobic, alt-right talking points on college campuses.
Kent, OH – On October 15 and 16, members of the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) from across the United States gathered for their annual national convention at Kent State, Ohio.
Tallahassee, FL – On Tuesday, October 11, Florida State University Graduate Assistants United (GAU) held a march and rally in support of graduate workers’ rights. Some of the demands included an increase of the minimum stipend, raises in accordance with inflation, and no more pay-to-work fees. Around 30 people attended the march from Dirac Library to Landis Green.
Arlington, TX – The University of Texas at Arlington prides itself on the diversity and inclusivity of its campus, and rightfully so; the campus sports an impressive student body hailing from a multitude of cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. However, UTA cannot, and should not, parade its “inclusivity” until it openly acknowledges the issue of its racist history. From school-sanctioned minstrel shows and mock slave auctions to the Confederate ideology, UTA continues to wrongfully honor one of the worst purveyors the university’s darkest legacies, Jack R. Woolf.
Arlington, TX – University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) is one of the most diverse campuses in the state of Texas, and the United States as a whole – yet it has a history of segregation and racism that the current administration attempts to whitewash and ignore. A man responsible for some of the most egregious aspects of UTA’s history is none other than former university President E. H. Hereford, who has a bust located in the University Center (UC) named after him.
Storrs, CT – Members of the University of Connecticut’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter are rallying to defend the campus’ cultural centers after the new UCONN president’s attack on the Diversity and Inclusion program. On September 28, members of the UCONN board of trustees voted to appoint Radenka Maric as the new president of the University of Connecticut. This decision, without consent from the student body, comes on the heels of Maric’s recent campaign to restructure funding for the diversity and equity program that cuts the budgets of many cultural centers.
On the weekend of October 15 – 16, hundreds of student activists will convene at Kent State University in Ohio for the annual Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) National Convention. The National Convention is held every fall semester and is an important event for building SDS and the broader student movement. This year’s convention will be joined virtually by Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA). Nelson is also a key figure in the resurgence of militant, class-struggle based trade unionism.
Tallahassee, FL – On September 7, Florida State University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a march in defense of women’s and reproductive rights, following the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. More than 40 students attended the march from the Legacy Fountain to the Integration Statue, accompanied by chants like “We won’t go back! We will fight back!”
