Arlington, TX – On Monday, September 4, a group of about six Progressive Student Union at UT Arlington members convened on the South bridge of the UTA campus to display two banners above the overpass, calling for the immediate removal of the statue of the racist former university Dean E.H. Hereford in the University Center, and for renaming the center after alumni and community leader Fahim Minkah. This has been a campaign of PSU for several semesters now and has been met with massive support from the student body as well as opposition from the UT administration and student government.
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union (PSU) presented a set of demands to the interim Vice President of Student Affairs Teresa Madden, on February 24. The group was successful in securing agreement on the first three demands but was unable to get a commitment on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs currently under threat.
Seattle, WA – On February 2, the Progressive Student Union (PSU) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) hosted a joint screening of the film Walkout.
Arlington, TX – On November 10, at the University of Texas at Arlington, over 100 students gathered in front of College Hall shouting “Transphobes go home!” and “This is what community looks like,” showing their outrage at the platforming of the transphobic bigot Jeff Younger. Younger had been invited to speak by Turning Point USA (TPUSA) following his primary defeat in the Texas House of Representatives race. Jeff Younger’s entire campaign was built on attempting to further criminalize trans healthcare for youth in the United States.
Arlington, TX – On October 31, the Progressive Student Union held a silent protest at the University of Texas at Arlington's presidential open forum and Q and A with newly inducted President Jennifer Cowley. The students arrived with signs in hand and with a large banner boldly stating “E.H. Hereford was a segregationist! UTA should not honor this!” The Progressive Student Union demands UTA rename the University Center, presently named the E.H. Hereford University Center; take down Herefords bust in the same building, and rename the neighboring Woolf Hall.
Arlington, TX – In the many decades since the University of Texas at Arlington ended segregation, students have fought long and hard to end the university’s practice of glorifying white supremacy.
Arlington, TX – On September 7, the Progressive Student Union held a rally here to speak out against the reversal of Roe v. Wade, as part of a wider national day of action called by Students for a Democratic Society.
Arlington, TX – On April 4 and 5, the University of Texas at Arlington held its semester student elections. In addition to these elections was a referendum brought forth by the administration of UTA to justify raising tuition and fee costs related to the school.
Arlington, TX – On September 1, the Progressive Student Union rallied 50 people to protest the recent attacks launched by Governor Greg Abbott and the GOP against women’s rights, and democracy. The most egregious of these attacks came in the form of an anti-abortion bill that sought to restrict the access to abortion in Texas to only the first six weeks of pregnancy, and made it a liable offense to offer aid in a woman getting an abortion in any way if it was beyond the first six weeks.
Arlington, TX – On February 10, the Progressive Student Union held a rally for accountability at the University of Texas at Arlington. PSU held the rally to determine the current status of the commitments made by the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) administration over six months ago.
Arlington, TX – July 10, marked the culmination of the Progressive Student Union’s call-in campaigns, email-ins, and callouts against Teik C. Lim’s administration for not doing enough for Black students at the University of Texas-Arlington. Through both private email and public statements, UTA had conceded to several demands made by PSU in regards to doing specific actions to make “Black lives matter” truly mean something at UTA as opposed to simply being a simple statement made by the administration at the height of the movement calling for justice for George Floyd.
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union (PSU) rallied 30 students and community members, June 18, demanding community control and defunding of the Arlington Police Department. “We need to remember why we are doing this,” said Arlington resident Adara Arrie. “This is not something to post on social media for a trend. Change has not happened,”
Demand community control of the police, and resignation of Chief Hall
Dallas, TX – On Saturday, June 6, about 5000 people rallied in 100-degree weather at Belo Garden Park across the street from the Earle Cabell Federal Building in downtown Dallas, to demand justice for victims of police violence, community control of the police, and the resignation of Renee Hall, the chief of the Dallas Police Department.
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union commenced a call-in campaign April 13 to get the administration at the University of Texas at Arlington to formally establish a Dreamer Center on their campus. Dreamer Centers exist already on several campuses, including University of Utah, Mountain View College, as well as UTA’s sister school the UT San Antonio. The latter has existed since 2018 due to student concerns that the undocumented students did not have adequate resources or protections due to the constant attacks on immigrants by the Trump administration.
Arlington, TX – The University of Texas at Arlington’s Progressive Student Union (PSU) held a rally for DACA recipients, November 14. The group, led by PSU President Mark Napieralski, delivered a list of ten demands to the administration, marching across the campus chanting, “No protection, no peace,” “Stand up, fight back,” “Black and brown immigrants matter,” and “Defend DACA.”
Arlington, TX – 60 people showed up at a protest organized by the Progressive Student Union (PSU) at the University of Texas at Arlington, September 4, against the Trump administration’s change to of policy on the detention of undocumented children.
Arlington, TX – University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has a bust, and the University Center named, in honor of one of its first Presidents – Ernest H. Hereford. The bust was commissioned in October of 1958, a month before his death, and the center was renamed in his honor in February 1959 by the Texas A&M system. For almost 60 years the bust and center have stood at the University.
Arlington, TX – About 20 students and supporters marched through the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) campus during the noon hour, Sept. 21, carrying signs and chanting slogans against police brutality. The march was organized by Progressive Student Union.
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union at the University of Texas, Arlington (UTA) held a Dump Trump Piñata Bash, Feb. 9, to protest the presidential candidate's racism and xenophobia. Around 30 students gathered around a piñata made to look like Donald Trump. Some took pictures and others took videos, while still others took turns striking the piñata. Candy flew on the grass with each swing.
