Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, April 3, Students for a Democratic Society crashed the FSU president’s ice cream social, demanding answers about the university's subservience to President Trump’s and Governor Desantis’ attacks on DEI initiatives and free speech.

Four members of SDS approached President Richard McCullough with a banner reading “Fight Trump and the GOP agenda! Stand with Palestine! Stop attacks on immigrants! Defend women’s and LGBTQ+ rights!”

After waiting in line for ice cream, SDS member JJ Glueck was refused service by McCullough. The president hid behind student volunteers upon seeing SDS. When asked why he refused to serve the group ice cream, a staff member claimed that McCullough was “meeting with some people.” This was false, as McCullough was observed quietly scrolling on his phone.

In reality, FSU’s president was dodging questions about FSU policies. SDS tried to walk around the tent to reach McCullough, but they were immediately intercepted by FSU police, who told members not to make the social event “too political,” and chastised them for being disruptive. FSUPD also threatened to trespass the four SDS members in attendance if they did not put the banner away.

Tallahassee SDS is very familiar with McCullough dodging or giving run-around answers to direct questions. In August 2023, SDS had a meeting with the president to ask about the university’s plan to address HB 999, a Florida bill that targeted DEI offices in higher education and sought to eliminate funding for programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. It also aimed to dismantle majors and student organizations related to race, gender and identity. In the meeting, McCullough employed vague platitudes that illustrated he had no plan to fight against DEI rollbacks.

At the Horizons Unlimited Conference on March 24, SDS member Angel Pierre asked President McCullough, “with the recent ICE raids, many students of color are worried about being profiled and arrested despite being legal residents or citizens. What do you believe FSU should do to ensure these students feel safe on campus? And in your opinion, what should be the policy surrounding ICE being allowed into dorms on campus?” To this, McCullough replied, “Thank you for your question, I don’t think we’re going to address that.”

SDS also attended the president’s ice cream social in 2024 with the intention of asking questions about FSU’s partnerships with Boeing and Northrop Grumman, which supply military equipment to the Israelis. Instead of meeting with students concerned about their tuition being used to carry out a genocide, President McCullough put down his ice cream scoop, took off his apron, and fled on an FSUPD golfcart.

After McCullough’s refusal to listen to concerned students at the 2025 ice cream social, SDS recorded a social media video outside of the Westcott building, where the president’s office is located, to call out his cowardice and demand answers. By chance, President McCullough walked out of the Westcott building in the middle of the recording. SDS members Lain Dorsey and JJ Glueck quickly approached McCullough and got his attention.

“We tried talking to you at the social today. Could I ask you a question now?” Glueck asked. “No, because you’re gonna record it, I know the way you guys work,” McCullough replied. Glueck and Dorsey walked behind him, asking questions about FSU’s declining Black enrollment and Israel Defense Forces war criminals being allowed on campus while SDS is barred from holding meetings. McCullough said nothing, shaking his head and walking to his vehicle. McCullough turned his back on the two, just as he has shamefully turned his back on Black, immigrant and queer students at FSU.

Tallahassee SDS will continue its campaign to defend DEI, get relisted as a recognized student organization, and keep racists off FSU’s campus. Join the fight will by attending weekly planning meetings on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the locally-owned Common Ground Books.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #FreeSpeech #DEI #SDS

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday March 29, during Tulane University’s three-day “Bookfest” celebration, about 20 people gathered to protest Tulane’s compliance with the racist Trump agenda. Protesters united in anger at Tulane’s attacks on free speech, its cuts to DEI programs, and its plans to renew a five-year contract with the U.S. – Israel Energy Center.

One protester held a sign reading, “From Tulane to Columbia, support our students.” Another sign read, “No renewal,” referring to the Energy Center, a federal program led by Tulane that helps Israel steal natural gas from Palestine.

Anthony Franklin, a Tulane student, called out Tulane’s attacks on Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs, saying, “The idea that DEI programs remove merit is disgusting and tells people of color that they never worked for a damn thing. I’m here to say that I worked three times as hard to get into this school!”

Tulane recently closed its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion office. Additionally, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity were quietly closed. These changes show that Tulane is complying with the racist Trump agenda without showing any resistance.

Speaking for the Queer Trans Community Action Project, Blu DiMarco connected the attacks on diversity and the university’s support for Israel, saying, “Anti-DEI policies are the policies of Zionism! To pollute and destroy the history of Palestinians, to destroy the history of queer and trans people, to isolate, attack and deport students who don’t agree with them.”

Sophie Barker, speaking for New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, said, “Last time we gathered at Tulane, the university notified seven students they were under conduct investigations for attending an off campus demonstration.” She continued, “If that wasn’t bad enough, Tulane is hosting IDF soldiers on Monday. Soldiers actively committing genocide!”

The rally wrapped up with powerful chants of “Defend free speech” and “Tulane, don’t comply, we’re protecting DEI!” Tulane is still investigating the students Barker mentioned, and five of seven students are facing university threats of suspension or expulsion.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #DEI #SDS

Minneapolis, MN – In frigid weather, February 20, 50 people rallied with the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) to oppose Trump's attacks on the environment, along with the barrage of other attacks that have happened in the first month of Trump’s presidency. 

Speakers connected Trump's attacks on immigrants, trans rights, workers and Palestine to the rollback of environmental protections that Trump instituted in his first days in office.

Trump has used executive orders to push more fossil fuels and end the U.S. role in the Paris Climate Accords, ensuring that previously agreed upon goals to curb climate change won’t happen. The CJC speaker emphasized how every tenth of a percent of rising temperatures mean more intense weather, food scarcity and increasing energy costs that fall disproportionately on oppressed nationality and working class families and their communities. They also talked about the lack of action by Democrats like Senator Klobuchar, whose office the rally was in front of.

Rally goers chanted, “Stand up fight back” as the emcee rotated the attacks on immigrants, trans rights, Palestine, and workers that are happening from Trump and his cronies. 

Kristen Bledsoe from Minnesota Abortion Action Committee talked about the heart wrenching case of Sam Nordquist, a Minnesota native who had recently been tortured and killed in New York as a logical conclusion of the transphobic rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. 

Bledsoe ended her speech with, “We have to resist the impulse to shut down and hide. We have to recognize that the cruelty and the chaos of the Trump administration is meant to make us lose focus, and we have to counter that by being more strategic, more united, and more organized than ever before.” 

“Trump’s attacks on DEI show the white supremacist mindset, trying to kill anything that would make this country more equal for those who have been left out for centuries,” stated Minnesota Workers United speaker Neil Radford. Radford called on rally goers to focus on solidarity of the working class that needs to stand together and not allow Trump and his ilk to divide us. 

Mira Altobell-Resendez from the Minnesota Immigrant Action Committee talked about the important work MIRAC is doing using Know Your Rights trainings with immigrant communities and allies to stand against ICE and governmental agencies. 

Trent Fast from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee made a clear case, “We need to be mad as hell at Donald Trump and his attacks on everyday working people here at home - and those in Palestine. We all have more in common with everyday Palestinians than we ever will with people like Donald Trump. Solidarity across movements is our sharpest weapon against his presidency. Because when we stand together, there's way more of us than there are of them!”

All of the speakers emphasized the importance of getting involved and building solidarity among the people’s movements to stand against the Trump attacks over the next four years and beyond.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCities #CJC #ClimateJustice #MNAWC #AWC #ICE #MIRAC #Immigration #NoDeportations #DEI

Salt Lake City, UT – On Thursday, October 24, over 40 students and community members gathered in protest on the University of Utah campus to defend diversity in higher education. The protesters demanded that the school reopen the resource centers for Black, women and LGBTQ students closed by HB 261, the Utah Republicans’ bill attacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The teach-in for diversity countered a racist event held by Young Americans for Freedom, a small and unpopular student group supported by Republicans. Despite the chilly temperatures, that group’s turnout was dwarfed by students chanting and listening as leaders from affected student groups and movements explained how HB 261 and racist attacks on education impact their organizations and constituencies.

“You can’t have true equality until you have equity,” said Nevaeh Parker of the Black Student Union. Parker explained that the BSU chose to end official sponsorship with the University of Utah due to its failures to Black students in the wake of HB 261. Protesters chanted, “Education is a right, not just for the rich and white!”

Alisi Fihaki of the Pacific Islander Student Association also sharply criticized the Republican bill, calling it a “flawed attempt that gives a variety of restrictions and consequences to students of color on campus.”

Speakers from MEChA de U of U also pointed out that the University of Utah went above the required steps to comply with HB 261, citing other Utah colleges which have maintained student resource centers. They called on students to protest the administration to win back DEI on campus.

As the night grew cold, hand-warmers were distributed to the crowd to maintain morale as speakers from the LGBTQ movement spoke on the Republican efforts to erase their presence on campus.

Ien Zielinski, the leader of the Utah Student Pride Center, said, “I started the Student Pride Center to show people that we all belong here.” Celeste Wallin of Utah Students for a Democratic Society said that “unlike the community centers, trans people are still here and always will be here. We can never be erased!”

Ruby Bollinger of Utah SDS ended the night, saying, “If we organize and protest, we can get the women's center back and all the other resources that we have lost. In fact, it is necessary that we do so.”

The teach-in was organized by the Black Student Union, the Pacific Islander Student Association, the Student Pride Center, MEChA de U of U, and Utah SDS.

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #StudentMovement #SDS #BSU #Mecha #DEI

Orlando, FL – On June 27 and 28, the Florida board of governors held a meeting in the Student Union of the University of Central Florida. On June 27, various subcommittees met to discuss actions that would be up for vote the next day, including giving the UCF football department $100 million in funding despite teachers and faculty receiving news last semester that they would not be receiving a pay raise.

On June 28, approximately ten speakers arrived at the board of governors meeting to give public comment on numerous items on the agenda such as updating the Florida New College’s “Master Plan” and the board’s decision to delist “Principles of Sociology” from the core course list earlier in the year. 

Delisting the course means that the class would no longer satisfy the general education core class requirements for students. Nearly every speaker, including one member of UCF Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), had their microphones cut off for “not speaking on items on the agenda.” Public comment lasted no more than ten minutes, with the board of governors continuing on with the meeting without acknowledgment of the comments given by those in attendance.

Several members of the audience who gave public comment, spoke up against the board of governors, stating that it was absurd to be cut off when they drove hours to attend the meeting and not even be acknowledged. The members of the audience who spoke up were then ordered to leave the meeting and were escorted by police out of the room.

At 10:30 a.m. the same day, over 25 students, including members of the audience who were cut off, gathered outside the front of the Student Union to rally against the Florida board of governor’s support of the crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters and assault on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Several in attendance had driven from other universities in the state such as Florida State University and the University of Florida. One attendee held a sign stating, “Fund DEI not genocide.” 

Muahbohn Dahn, an organizer with Florida Student Power, explained the effects that bills such as SB 266 will have on students and their education, stating, “This bill doesn’t just defund our diversity, equity and inclusion offices in the state, but attacks our courses in general. Any course that has to do with critical race theory or critical gender theory were all removed from our catalogue, because they know if we are able to sociologically look into the systems that have been placed around us, we will see they ways in which they continue to oppress us.”

Ladara Royal, an educator and union leader of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, further elaborated, “It is said that public school education is the great equalizer. However, that dream has become under attack in Florida. You cannot have innovation when everyone in the room looks and thinks the same.”

Despite heavy heat and the presence of police, the students rallied outside the Student Union for an hour as the board of governors exited their meeting.

Marcus Polzer, an organizer with UCF SDS who was among those that were cut off during public comment, stated, “The Florida board of governors herald themselves as supporters of higher education and students, yet they can’t spare more than 15 minutes every three months to listen to public comment. This board has the power to dismantle entire majors. We students are a vital part of this University, and we will not be silenced.”

Madalyn Propst, a student from FSU spoke out further against the board’s recent undemocratic decisions, stating, “They think it is their God-given right to govern against the interests of students. We will not be complacent in their hatred; we will not sit idly by while they take our rights away.”

The rally and press conference were held by Florida Student Power and Youth Action Fund in collaboration with the UCF Divestment Coalition and UCF Students for a Democratic Society.

#OrlandoFL #DEI #UCFSDS #FloridaStudentPower #YouthActionFund #UCFDivestmentCoalition

Baton Rouge, LA – On April 22, over 50 students and community organizers rallied on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol demanding an end to the GOP’s reactionary agenda. The protesters then took to the streets and marched to Governor Jeff Landry’s mansion for a rally. This action served to unite the people against the Republicans and bring the people to the march on the Republican National Convention this summer in Milwaukee.

The demands made during the action included the need for community control of the police, protecting LGBTQ youth, defending DEI programs, legalization for all immigrants, enshrining workers’ rights, and ending U.S. aid to Israel.

Protesters called out the state senate, which was set to vote on SCR 21, a resolution that affirms Louisiana’s undying allegiance to Israel. Chants like “GOP, KKK, IDF they’re all the same!” disturbed legislators taking calls and posing for photo ops on the capitol steps.

At the pre-march rally, student organizers spoke on the struggles they face on campus and how they relate to the legislative session. “You are trying to silence students who are against the funding of a genocide and the funding of an occupation – looking at you, Tulane University. You are scared as a revolution is happening, a revolution where all nations deserve to be free of oppression,” asserted Anthony Franklin, a member of Tulane Students for a Democratic Society.

As the demonstrators marched toward the mansion, organizers chanted, “Not the church, not the state! Trans people decide our fate!” and “Racist, sexist, anti-gay. GOP, go away!” energizing the crowd. Once they gathered at Governor Jeff Landry’s mansion, more speakers highlighted the importance of keeping the fight in the streets as legislators attempt to remove the people’s democratic rights.

Ryan Spalt, a member of LSU SDS, stated, “At the beginning of 2023, legislators attempted to pass the ‘trans bathroom bill’ and ‘don’t say gay bill’ both of which didn’t pass because of actions like this one. And here we are, in 2024, seeing the same bills that seek to erase trans people’s existence, and once again, we see LSU administration support this sentiment by shooting down our student government’s trans housing bill!”

Organizations from across the state joined in solidarity for this multifaceted event. Multiple SDS chapters (LSU, Tulane, and Loyola), the Queer and Trans Community Action Project (QTCAP), Unión Migrante, New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police (NOCOP), and New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Democratic Socialists of America made this action possible. The broad coalition shows the importance of solidarity among struggles and the need to unite against the reactionary Republican agenda.

#BatonRougeLA #NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQ #DEI #GovLandry #SDS #QTCAP #NOCOP #NOSHIP #FRSO #DSA

Chicago IL – On April 3, nearly 70 students rallied at the University of Illinois at Chicago to demand the university do more to support its diverse student body. This included increased funding to cultural centers, ethnic studies programs, diversity programs, increased Black enrollment and retention, and hiring more Black and Latino faculty. Despite freezing wind and rain the students marched and rallied for over an hour, chanting “We’re cold, we’re tired, we don’t like the admin!”

The rally was called by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and endorsed by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Mexican Students of Aztlán, the Black Student Union, the Latine Student Coalition, Anakbayan, Students for a Revolutionary Union, Speak Up, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Jimmy Rodgers opened with a speech for SDS attacking the hypocrisy of the UIC administration touting its diversity, stating, “UIC holds the highest Palestinian student population in the entirety of the United States and yet when asked to provide care to these students the university begins to fall and fumble over itself to find cowardly ways to tell you that they don’t actually view these students as people.”

Abdal Alfawaqa from SJP emphasized the importance of Black and Palestinian unity, saying “Historically and presently both the Black and Palestinian communities have faced systematic oppression, from the days of slavery and colonialism to the ongoing struggles for civil rights and self-determination. Our communities have been bound by shared experiences of marginalization and resistance.”

Esme Vasquez from Mesa explained the history of the Latino Cultural Center and emphasized the hard-fought struggle of Latino, Chicano and Puerto Rican students to get it built. The cultural center, diversity programs, and the correspondingly high rate of Latino enrollment at UIC (around 29%) were only made possible after militant marches and sit-ins forced the university to construct the center in the early 1980s.

Citlalli Santiago from SRU shared her experience as an indigenous student at UIC, talking about the chronic underfunding of the Native American support program. She explained that, unlike many other diversity programs on campus, the Native American Support Program is not attached to a cultural center and is far out of the way of most students who would want to take advantage of its services.

Jeremiah Munoz from SDS spoke about the importance of increasing the number of Black and Latino faculty, pointing out the glaring disparity between the composition of UIC’s student body and faculty. Munoz stated, “Nationwide, we see this trend of underrepresentation in academia. Only 6% of professors nationwide are Black and only 10% are Latino, despite together making up one-third of this country! Here at UIC, despite the claims of diversity and inclusion, we see this reflected in a faculty body that is 60% white at a school that is 70% non-white.”

Munoz also spoke to the impact of Black and brown faculty for students of color “They serve as our mentors, as our role models, and as our advocates. They validate our experiences. They inspire us to excel in our lives. I want to stress that representation matters when we see ourselves reflected in our educators!”

Liz Rathburn of FRSO spoke about the importance of learning the movements of students and oppressed people in the 1960s and 1970s, stating, “We know that the reason the ruling class in this country is so obsessed with keeping working and oppressed people from learning their history is because that history is a weapon. All over the country students are learning from the victories and defeats of the last 60 years and building a movement that will win back those gains and keep going.”

SDSer Angel Naranjos ended the speeches, summing many of the speakers up by leading them in a chant of “Education is a right not just for the rich and white!” before denouncing the ongoing segregation of higher education. Naranjos raised the demand for increased Black enrollment and retention, pointing out that despite the population of Chicago being nearly one third Black, UIC’s undergraduate student body is just 8% Black. “In the city’s largest public university and in a city that is almost 30% Black – we think that this glaring disparity is an outrageous inequality.”

Naranjos ended their speech by demanding the university take material steps to increase Black enrollment, saying, “UIC’s claims of valuing diversity don’t have to simply be lip service.”

After the speeches ended, students marched to the main administrative building on campus, University Hall, to make sure their demands would be heard by the UIC chancellor. The march coincided with a passing period and hundreds of students watched as their classmates marched with the banner reading, “Education is a right not just for the rich and white!” Several bystanders joined as they marched.

After reaching the hall, organizers led students in chants of “Dare to struggle! Dare to win!” and “Fund ethnic studies now!” before finally dispersing to warm up and dry off. Organizers say they will continue to protest until UIC provides students with the resources and support they deserve.

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #Diversity #DEI #SDS

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.

The march, organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), called for the protection of the Women, Gender and Sexualities Studies department at USF, the expansion of Africana Studies, and the funding of multicultural organizations. These demands come as a response to state legislators’ banning of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in universities statewide due to House Bill 999/Senate Bill 266.

The University of South Florida has implemented these changes through defunding of programs such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which funds student organizations, and the gradual elimination of programs from the Africana Studies department.

Tampa Bay SDS member Samara Habyarimana spoke on their petition, signed by students, faculty and student organizations, echoing their demands and holding USF administration accountable for their inaction on the legislative attacks. Habyarimana stated, “Despite the fact the student body is actively calling for and supports diversity at USF, admin has refused to meet with student organizers to discuss the students’ demands.”

In a recent university board of trustees meeting, the Board Chair William Weatherford responded to worried faculty members by saying USF was diverse enough. USF President Rhea Law also said the university was “supportive of opportunity,” while confirming there was no longer any Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on campus. These contradictory messages and obscuring of facts have made students call for more transparency regarding the future of DEI.

Community members also spoke, as the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement joined the event. Their speaker highlighted the connections between the oppression faced by Black people in the United States and the elimination of courses in the Africana Studies department. Speakers also highlighted this attack on diversity as part of a larger reactionary effort to curb people’s rights in Florida.

Protesters chanted “USF shame on you, defend diversity like you should,” and stated they will continue to fight for this cause.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #BDS #DEI #Diversity #SDS

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.”

The rally focused on targeting the USF administration officials who have the power to protect diversity. This sentiment was echoed in speeches given by students. Carlyn Turnage, a member of Tampa Bay SDS asserted that “USF is not doing their job” by allowing students and their education to be under attack at the state level.

Due to this inaction from administration, Tampa Bay SDS announced a next step in their “Defend Diversity” campaign, which will be a petition signed by students, faculty and student-led organizations to show USF that students do not want to see diversity done away with on their campus.

Likewise, students voiced their concern with USF administration, in particular Rhea Law, siding with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his policies. Across Florida, public universities face their DEI programs being defunded due to House Bill 999/ Senate Bill 266 which started to take effect earlier this past January. Students at this protest demanded transparency from administration regarding this bill and how it will impact students and education. Students stated they will continue to stand up for diversity at USF.

#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #DEI #SDS

Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, February 27, a group of around 15 students joined together in front of the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida to demand that the university defend diversity.

The event was organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society as part of their campaign titled “Defend Diversity.” The student protesters demanded USF take action to protect Women’s and Gender Studies, expand Africana Studies, and fund multicultural organizations. Students chanted “DEI is welcome here” and “Ron DeSantis go away.”

The rally was a cry for USF to take action to protect DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs from being restricted. This student group blames higher administration officials for the lack of protections for diversity. Tampa Bay SDS member Allie Enriquez states, “USF presidents like Rhea Law continue to ignore the demands of students and follow DeSantis’ agenda.”

In Florida, this backward legislation has mainly been pushed through by Governor Ron DeSantis. The most dire and far reaching of these bills is HB 999/SB 266 which prohibits funding to any DEI-related office or program, including student groups.

Tampa Bay SDS continues to fight for diversity on their campus by building up their campaign to Defend Diversity and having direct actions against their administration’s complacency on this issue.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #DEI #DeSantis #SDS #TampaBaySDS