Fight Back! News is circulating the following statement and call-to-action from National Students for a Democratic Society:

SDS members – Sarah Rogala, Jay Francabandera, community member Claire Wagoner, and one other student – are at threat of suspension, arrest, and job loss at Northern Arizona University due to protests that mobilized hundreds to say no to any ICE presence in Flagstaff, Arizona, as well as to say no to the opening of a new ICE office across NAU.

On Wednesday and Friday, Rogala and Francabandera face conduct hearings. We in SDS call on our supporters to call NAU on Wednesday Sept 23, and to tell them these hearings must end at once.

This is a flagrant violation of these students' and community member's First Amendment rights to free speech. Civil liberties and constitutional rights, especially ones as fundamental as the First Amendment, do not end at the threshold of a university, especially a public university, regardless of what made-up, slapdash, hastily fabricated, inconsistent, and unprecedented conduct policies might be sent in an email from one administrator to another.

College protest, flyering, and student assembly is a longtime tradition of campus life. Just because administrators would rather keep silent about Trump and ICE's crimes, does not mean they should have the power to crush student dissent and expression. We said no when similar attacks happened across universities in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and the Midwest, and we are saying no here now!

Call in on Wednesday morning, between 9am PDT and 5pm PDT (MDT Arizona), and help us defend free speech at Northern Arizona University!

When: Wednesday, September 23rd, between 9am and 5pm PDT (Arizona MDT)

Who to Call:

1. Megan Gavin, Dean of Students

928-523-5181

2. Justin Mallett, Vice President of “Inclusion Excellence” and Director of SPEAK

928-523-0373

3. Jose Luis Cruz Rivera, President of NAU

928-523-3232

Script:

“Hi there, my name is NAME and I am from, CITY, STATE. I am calling to say no to the conduct hearings on Sarah Rogala, Jay Francabandera, and a third SDSer whose hearing is also today, as well as to demand the repeal of the trespass warning and arrest threat on Claire Wagoner. We will call in until this repression on students at Northern Arizona University stops at once. Hands off campus free speech and the First Amendment right to assemble!”

#FlagstaffAZ #AZ #StudentMovement #NAU #PoliticalRepression #FlagstaffSDS