New York, NY – On March 23, the Contract Faculty Union at NYU (CFU-UAW) called a strike at 11 a.m. after contract negotiations failed to advance by the strike deadline. Over 200 faculty, students and community members convened at the John A. Paulson Center to picket in response to the strike call. Several classes were cancelled, which created a massive disruption amongst the university community.

Before the strike call, the NYU administration stated their intention to hire substitute professors to replace striking professors, which would make these substitutes scabs. In response, the CFU-UAW called on non-contract faculty to not take on struck work. Student groups such as YDSA, SDS and SILS called on their student peers to not attend classes with substitute professors.

The picketing went on for two days, from March 23 to March 24, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

During the picket, hundreds of students, faculty and community members joined in to express solidarity with their striking professors. Protesters chanted “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” and “Get up! Get Down! New York is a union town!”

Politicians, faculty and student organizers spoke to the crowd about the importance of standing in solidarity with striking professors and why the administration should provide them with a fair contract. Student organizers from YDSA, SILS, SDS and Yecao Collective organized “Freedom Schools” that took place alongside pickets, which spoke on different topics related to NYU campus, labor or immigration.

At around 3 a.m. on March 25, the bargaining committee of the CFU-UAW announced that a tentative agreement between the administration and the union was reached. There will be a vote to ratify the contract from March 31 to April 6. If ratified, the contract will mark a major victory for faculty after years of organizing.

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #NYU #UAW

New York, NY – On March 12, around 20 NYU students and faculty picketed at the front of the Kimmel Center, where the university senate was set to take place. The Students for a Democratic Society at NYU organized the picket to demand a sanctuary campus.

The picket comes after the organization’s petition delivery on February 20, where students rallied and delivered a petition with over 600 signatures demanding the administration implement a sanctuary campus. The administration has yet to provide any response to SDS’ demands.

Protesters chanted “NYU, hear our call! Sanctuary for all!” and “Say it once, say it twice! We will not put up with ICE!” as they picketed. Protesters also held signs reading, “Sanctuary campus now!” and “ICE murders, ICE lies! We can see it with our eyes!” As people passed by, they joined along with the chants, clapped in approval, and took photos of the picket. NYPD and NYU campus security officers stood by watching as well.

Andres Luke from the NYU Young Democratic Socialists stated, “NYU has a clear political allegiance. That being said, student safety is not political! No matter what Linda Mills and her administration may claim. We are not asking them to violate the law to protect our students, we are asking them to protect our students from violations of the law.”

Sonya Posmentier from the NYU Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine told the crowd, “I’ve seen our students and colleagues put their bodies on the line to stop federal agents from taking our neighbors on Canal Street and at Federal Plaza. And I’ve seen our students provide accompaniment and detention support. I’ve seen you set up rapid response networks, community defense, and alert systems when the university failed to do so.”

A member from the NYU SDS read a statement from Latinos Unidos Con Honor y Amistad (LUCHA), “The targeting of immigrant communities is our reality in 2026; it is a direct assault on human dignity. When families are separated, when students disappear from their classrooms and dorms, when communities live in fear, we cannot turn a blind eye and deny these human rights violations. LUCHA calls on NYU to align its actions with its stated values of inclusion, equity, and global citizenship.”

Patrick Reddy from NYU SDS stated, “NYU has done irreparable damage to its relationship with its students by bending to the will of a federal administration whose values directly contradict the diverse community this university proudly advertises in its promotional materials. Why? To avoid legal battles? To protect funding? At what point do you decide that protecting students matters more? The student body has had enough of being ignored. You may choose to back down and cower, but we will not. We will stand up for each other.
We will protect our peers.
And we will keep fighting until our university does the same.”

Protesters continued to picket after speakers – with their chants being heard from inside the meeting room of the university senate. Afterwards, protesters dispersed with a promise to continue taking action until their demands are met.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYU #StudentMovement #SDS #ImmigrantRights

New York, NY – On March 3, around 25 NYU students and faculty gathered in the rain at Washington Square Park to oppose the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The rally was organized by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), NYU Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), NYU Jews Against Zionism (JAZ) and NYU Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP).

Protesters chanted, “We want justice, you say how? Hands off Iran now!” and “From the belly of the beast, hands off the Middle East!” Organizers held a banner reading “Money for jobs and education! Not for bombs and occupation!” As the protest continued, people from the community stopped to take photos and videos of the event.

A representative from JAZ stated. “As Jews Against Zionism, we recognize Israel's involvement in the bombing as a blatant act of imperialism. We reject the Jewish supremacist state and its American collaborators! We condemn the U.S.-Israeli war machine and NYU's active role within it. We stand in solidarity with all peoples of the world in the struggle against American imperialism.”

Ebtesham Ahmed spoke for NYU SDS. “It is our duty as people residing in the belly of the beast to oppose this war. However, it is not just our moral duty, we have an objective material interest in opposing this war. Because as I said, we, the people did not want this war. But you know who clearly did: the billionaire class of this country. They want to take hold of Iranian oil for themselves; they want their overseas unsinkable aircraft carrier called Israel to be able to carry out its settler colonial efforts unopposed. They want this war – we don’t.”

Arang Keshevarian from NYU FSJP spoke, “Donald Trump and his cronies are using, instrumentalizing and abusing the bravery of the Iranian people to confront their oppressors. They’re using this to justify and try to legitimate this war effort. And we cannot let them do that”

Ahmed encouraged people to continue to take action to oppose this war effort with Iran. They stressed the importance of getting organized, as it was more crucial than ever with the attacks the Trump administration launches here and abroad.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYU #SDS #Iran #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement

New York, NY – On September 10, NYU students joined a rally led by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society, with the endorsement of over a dozen university organizations, to demand that NYU end its compliance with the Trump administration’s attacks.

The campaign demanded NYU declare itself a sanctuary campus, for the administration to actively work to stop student deportations, pledge to protect trans rights on campus, increase Black enrollment, and commit to protect cultural programs on campus.

Students chanted “NYU don’t comply , don’t give in to Trump’s lies” and “No compliance! With Trump’s violence!” As students chanted, dozens of community members and students in the area stopped for brief periods to take pictures and record the rally. Many people waved fists and chanted along in support.

Janani Venkataramanan, from NYU Wagner Advocacy and Political Action stated, “Our school [Wagner], much like NYU at large, prides itself on being diverse. Wagner is majority women, and over 50% of Wagner students identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander or mixed. 27% are international students. Now we face a reality where policies, at the especially federal level but also state and city level, are meant not only to ignore certain historically underserved people, but also actively harm them. All this to line the pockets and serve the overlords that have always had power.”

A student from the Law Students for Justice in Palestine spoke on how NYU has been attacking free speech by expelling student protesters in compliance with Trump’s overall attacks on the Palestinian liberation movement. They also spoke on NYU Law inviting ICE’s legal arm to speak at a career fair. However, through significant and effective student organizing, law students were able to get ICE removed from the fair. They ended by emphasizing the need to continue organizing and fighting back Trump’s agenda.

Ebtesham Ahmed, from the NYU Students for a Democratic Society stated, “Donald Trump has unleashed relentless attacks on higher education and the students in it. University administrations all over the country have only shown cowardice towards Trump’s attacks on our education. Resistance is the rare exception, with compliance being the norm. NYU is no exception to this pattern.” They spoke on how NYU stated they will “comply with the law” with ICE coming onto campus, NYU’s silence as Langone revoked gender affirming care, NYU cutting Black enrollment in half from 7% to 4% from 2023 to 2024, and the university’s complete silence as cultural programs all over the country are defunded and cut. They emphasized the necessity to organize and take collective action to win their demands.

After speakers went, protesters dispersed with a call to action to continue organizing, taking action, and agitating friends. Ebtesham said at the end, quoting Fred Hampton, “When we dare to struggle, we dare to win! If we don’t dare struggle, then we don’t deserve to win!”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYU #StudentMovement

New York, NY – On February 27, the New York University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally and picket outside the NYU Kimmel center to demand that the university senate refuse to comply with Donald Trump’s executive orders, and to commit to protecting its students from any attacks that may come in the future. 

Approximately 50 students marched outside the front entrance to the Kimmel center, where the U senate was meeting, and chanted “No compliance! With Trump’s violence!” and “When students are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

“NYU might promise to ‘comply with the law,’ but we will not comply with anyone, NYU-affiliated or otherwise, who seeks to threaten our rights, safety, or solidarity,” said an NYU student and speaker at the event. 

In the four weeks since Trump’s inauguration, he has enacted executive orders threatening the funding of institutions that welcome and protect trans, Black, brown, and immigrant students. Already, NYU has demonstrated a dangerous willingness to comply with these policies, preemptively canceling lifesaving gender affirming care at its institutional hospital and committing to “follow the law” when asked about allowing ICE on campus. 

The university administration has also attacked its students' rights to speech and protest, having suspended 13 activists and placed over 20 students on probation at the end of the winter term. This willingness to bend the knee to dangerous and discriminatory federal actions presents an ongoing threat to the safety of NYU’s student community.

NYU SDS commits to continued action to protect and serve our community. To quote the ending speech of the rally, “If the NYU administration refuses to defend its students against the Trump regime, we will defend ourselves.”

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY