Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

SDS

By staff

Michela Martinazzi.

New York, NY – On Thursday, April 3 New York University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a teach-in on fighting political repression under the Trump presidency. The purpose of the teach-in was to empower students to know their rights when it comes to protesting, and how to fight back if the school or state bears down.

The teach-in hosted guest speakers Collin Poirot, a member of the National Lawyers Guild; Michela Martinazzi, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Laura Rodriguez, of the Tampa 5.

Read more...

By staff

San Jose students protest against visa revocations.

San Jose, CA – On April 9, around 60 San Jose State students and community members gathered by the campus’s Cesar Chavez arch to protest the recent revocation of student visas by the federal government. According to San Jose State University president Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, 12 San Jose State University International students had their F-1 visas revoked. The revocations came as part of a wave of visa revocations by the federal government, most of which are student visas.

Read more...

By Jake Holtzman

Austin, TX – Around 40 students rallied at a walkout for immigrant rights in front of the UT Tower, Wednesday, April 9, at 11 a.m. The walkout is part of an ongoing campaign by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to kick ICE off campus. Students are calling on the university to take concrete actions to protect immigrant students and to refuse to collaborate with ICE.

Read more...

By Marcus Polzer

A group of youth sit and listen to a speaker during a fundraising event in a bar.

Orlando, FL – On March 31, University of Central Florida (UCF) Students for a Democratic Society, Young Poet Society, and Young Democratic-Socialists of America came together to hold an open mic and fundraiser for Trans Day of Visibility, with all proceeds going towards Central Florida Mutual Aid’s Trans Safety Fund.

The goal of this event was to platform trans and queer voices on campus amid attacks on LGBTQ rights, including the recent unanimous decision by the UCF board of trustees to make it a conduct charge to use a bathroom that does not correspond with one’s “sex assigned at birth.”

Read more...

By Patrick Sweeney

A massive crowd gathers in a park to protest Trump's agenda.

Appleton WI – On Saturday April 5, 2500 protesters convened at Houdini Plaza as part of the national “Hands Off” day of action. The demonstration spread throughout downtown Appleton, encompassing the sidewalks of several whole city blocks.

This event comes after the one-sided defeat of Brad Schimel in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Schimel campaigned on banning abortion, stripping union rights and attacking immigrants, and his loss came despite the millions of dollars that Elon Musk personally poured into the campaign. Schimel’s loss is a clear indication that the people are against Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the reactionary Republican agenda expanding in Wisconsin.

Read more...

By staff

Cowardly FSU President McCullough runs away when asked questions. 

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.

Read more...

By Rory Macdonald

Students and community members protest across the street from Bookfest where attendees can see them, holding signs condemning Tulane's student repression.

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.

Read more...

By staff

Students at UIC rally against cutbacks.

Chicago, IL – On March 13, over 150 students, staff and faculty members at the University of Illinois-Chicago rallied in front of their administration building to protest budget cuts which threaten five majors, non-tenured faculty, and cultural programs. The emergency protest was called to demand funding for education and a “chop from the top” model, as inflated admin salaries were called to attention. The protest had support from a broad collection of student organizations, faculty and local activists.

Read more...

By Shreyas Vasudevan

Hakm Murad, an activist from Palestinian Youth Movement New Orleans, speaks to the press in front of Tulane University’s barricaded lawn.

New Orleans, LA – On Wednesday, March 19, a broad group of activists congregated at Tulane University for a press conference. The groups presented an open letter addressed to the administrations of all local universities demanding they protect students, staff and faculty from the White House’s recent slew of attacks against college campuses. They demanded protections for immigrants, freedom of speech and DEI programs.

Read more...

By Ryan Spalt

A crowd of students hold signs saying, "Defend Women's and LGBTQ Rights."

Baton Rouge, LA – On March 10, Louisiana State University (LSU) students and Baton Rouge community members rallied on LSU’s campus in Free Speech Alley for International Women’s Day.

In light of Trump's attacks on immigrants, one of the demands put forth by students was to put an end to the mass deportations and family separations. Students also called on the LSU administration to declare the university a sanctuary campus.

Read more...

By staff

Two police officers arrest a student.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Together United Students for a Democratic Society.

On March 17th Tulane University arrested one of its students for speaking up in defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Last week, Tulane University closed its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion office. A Tulane student, in response to their school’s cowardly compliance with the racist Trump agenda, wore a paper sign on their backpack saying “Tulane just got rid of DEI… If you have the means, go elsewhere.”

Read more...

By Mathieu Chabaud

A crowd of people sits in chairs. People hold large banners in the front and back rows.

Seattle, WA – On March 12, around 50 students and workers gathered to confront the University of Washington Board of Regents and demand no ICE on campus, divestment from Israel, and the protection of transgender students. The board had cancelled its original full meeting but kept a scheduled committee meeting at the same time, which included a vote on divestment from Israel.

Read more...

By staff

Tampa students demand freedom for Mahmoud Khalil.

Tampa, FL – On March 12, Tampa Bay’s Students for a Democratic Society led a protest to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, who is under the threat of deportation as the U.S. pushes to revoke his green card.

Read more...

By staff

Protesters march in the street carrying signs with slogans like “ Do not criminalize free speech”.

New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, March 11, the local Palestine solidarity movement sprang into action to demand the release of student activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian illegally detained by ICE last week for his role in the Palestine-solidarity encampment at Columbia University. Although Khalil is a resident of New York, he was transported to a detention facility four hours away from the city of New Orleans, Jena, Louisiana for holding.

Read more...

By Jacob Muldoon

International Women's Day marked in Orlando, Florida.

Orlando, FL – On March 8, the Orlando district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) held a spoken word and trivia fundraiser to commemorate International Women’s Day and gather the Orlando community in the face of recent attacks on women. The slogans raised at the event were “Defend Women’s and Reproductive Rights,” “Stand with the Women of Palestine” and “Stop the Deportations! Keep Families Together.”

Read more...

By Meredith Aby

A group of protesters holding Palestinian flags and signs.

Minneapolis, MN – On March 11, over 300 people protested in front of the Federal Building downtown Minneapolis to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil and an end to the Trump administration’s criminalization of the pro-Palestine student movement at U.S. The protest was a part of Student for a Democratic Society’s call for a National Day of Action in solidarity with Khalil.

Read more...

By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from UMN Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

On March 10, after 10 days of deliberation, the University of Minnesota’s panel for the disciplinary hearing of the students arrested during the occupation of Halimy Hall decided that the student protestors were found not responsible for the unjust charges of violation of local, state or federal laws, theft, property damage, and vandalism because of the absolute lack of evidence.

Read more...

By Jake Holtzman

International Women's Day marked in Austin, Texas.

Austin, TX – On the afternoon of March 8, International Women’s Day, around 400 people rallied in downtown Austin in front of the Texas State Capitol building.

Read more...

By Liz Rathburn

Chicago, IL – On Thursday February 27, over 100 students at the University of Illinois Chicago walked out of classes to protest racist Republican attacks on immigrants. The walk out was called by the UIC chapter of New Students for a Democratic Society as part of a national SDS week of action to demand ICE off campus, no deportations, and legalization for all.

Read more...

By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from by UMN SDS.

On the second day of the Halimy Hall suspension hearings there were three big takeaways.

Witnesses inside Halimy hall state they would like to see Halimy hall arrestees participate in restorative justice. When asked about restorative justice for the students, witnesses from inside Halimy Hall said they would be interested in seeing the students have a restorative justice option as opposed to further punitive punishment. This contrasts the university's multiple denials of a restorative justice proposal by the legal team, in which they claim restorative justice is exclusively used for academic cases, refusing to consider the social and historical context behind this case and firmly placing it among cases of sexual misconduct in how it can be handled.

Read more...
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr
E-Mail
Reddit
`; } addSharingButtons() // Add pinned pages to footer navigation /* var foot = document.querySelector('footer nav'); var pins = document.querySelectorAll('.pinned'); for (var i=0; i-->