Asheville, NC – Leaders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and community environmentalists gathered in Pack Square, downtown Asheville, on July 17 to demand that BP pay for the disastrous oil spill that continues to devastate the Gulf Coast.

Three months into it, BP is continuing to put corporate interests ahead of the workers and the public. Instead of fully funding cleanup efforts and compensating those who are out of work because of BP’s disaster, BP is using a great deal of money to fund a public relations campaign to convince the public that they are behaving well. BP’s behavior is shocking to Americans because the devastating results are just all too obvious. Eleven dead workers. Tar balls and oil slicks polluting the water and beaches, dead fish, sea turtles and birds. Countless workers driven out of business or left unemployed.

Protesters chanted, “The people over profits! Seize BP!” and “The planet over profits! Seize BP!” while cars honked in solidarity as they passed through downtown. Sarah Buchner, a member of the University of North Carolina at Asheville SDS spoke out saying, “BP ignored crucial safety issues, cut corners and spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress to fight regulations that led to this tragedy in the first place. BP needs to be held accountable and we are demanding full reparations to the coast!”

#AshevilleNC #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #BP #EnvironmentalJustice

Tallahassee, FL – Thirty students and community members gathered outside the Old State Capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday, May 12th to protest BP’s big Gulf oil spill. Four rallies took place across Florida in response to the devastating environmental destruction that BP caused in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill crisis has yet to be resolved. Members of Gainesville Area Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) traveled to Tallahassee to show solidarity with the protest, called by the International ANSWER, and organized by the Center for Participant Education (CPE). The students are demanding, “Make BP Pay!”

Local ABC News crews filmed the protesters as they held a giant poster outside the Old State Capitol that read “Seize BP!” and collected signatures condemning British Petroleum for causing the oil leak. The enormous off shore drilling leak has devastated the delicate balance of ocean life in the Gulf. Cars honked their horns in solidarity as they passed by the busy intersection where the protest was held, and the crowd of participants grew as community members joined in throughout the evening.

“I think this protest demonstrates how the community responds to negligent corporations that harm the environment in their quest to turn a profit,” SDS member Justin Wooten said. “We can't allow a company like BP to go on harming the earth – we need to make BP pay for what they've done.”

#TallahasseeFL #BP #OilSpill #EnvironmentalJustice