Tallahassee, FL – On September 17, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society gathered at Landis Fountain to demand an end to “Flock Safety” in the city. Around 30 students gathered holding signs against Flock mass surveillance, and speakers discussed the harmful effects of Flock on our community. Student slogans included “What do we want? Privacy! When do we want it? Now!” and “No justice, no peace! No racist police!”

On August 31, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the removal of LPRs (License Plate Readers) on state roads, with a 30-day deadline. County and city governments, such as Tallahassee, have followed up on this move in an atmosphere of opposition to Flock surveillance, with Tallahassee City Commission voting to suspend ALPRs (Flock and Motorola cameras) on September 9.

However, the city commission rejected a vote to cover these cameras, which would prevent them from recording. Leon County voted on September 15 to remove all ALPR cameras within 30 days.

These removals and suspensions have so far not included cameras in neighborhoods and campuses. The frequent misreports from ALRPs and their constant recording have been met with backlash, but the state campaign for mass surveillance has not ended.

Amy Farnum-Patronis, the senior director of university communications at FSU, reported vaguely to FSView that, “in light of current ongoing conversations on this topic and in the interest of being as transparent as possible, we can confirm that the core of FSU's campus does not contain Flock devices.”

The Tallahassee Police Department wants people to think they can regulate Flock. They claim to have “have implemented policies governing the professional and appropriate use of ALPR technology.”

Flock, a private company for mass surveillance, wrote in its own February 2026 Terms of Service that the company has “irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to (a) use and disclose Customer Data to provide the Flock Services.” Customer data, defined as whatever Flock cameras record, can be shared by Flock to local and federal agencies around the country for “investigative purposes,” even if TPD opts out of data sharing. Flock has frequently used this data to aid the ICE terror campaign.

As residents of Tallahassee know, our city has been a center for ICE deportations in Florida. On May 29, one of the largest ICE roundups in Florida occurred in Gaines Street, Tallahassee, detaining more than 100 construction workers. Tallahassee has also agreed to the 287(g) agreement, whereby police officers can take on ICE duties and racially profile the residents of Tallahassee.

At the SDS protest at Landis Fountain, a speaker and Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance member said, “These cameras have been used by police for their own personal gain, to stalk and harass primarily women.” He pointed out, “We have no idea how they’re using this technology right now, because there is no transparency. Recently, the Florida governor made it illegal for undocumented students to even enroll in Florida public colleges. So, do you think that the only line of defense is going to be the admission’s office? What happens when they start to be even more muscular in their crackdown against students on campus? When they start to suspect that some brown kid might actually be illegal on campus?”

FSU students refuse to accept the vague sidestepping of FSU admin and refuse to back down on the fight against Flock. Suspension and ALPR removal are not enough, and SDS will keep up the pressure to protect the right to privacy for all residents of Tallahassee. SDS will demand Flock removal until every Flock camera in Tallahassee is removed.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #FlockCameras #Flock #SDS #ImmigrantRights #Surveillance #ALPR

New York, NY – On September 18, members of the Students for a Democratic Society at NYU held a speakout as part of a national week of action to oppose the “Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act” (HR 4795), which was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. If the bill becomes law, it will strip federal funding from universities that divest from the state of Israel.

The speakout took place in front of Gould Plaza, the site of the 2024 NYU Palestine Solidarity Encampments. Hundreds of students, faculty and community members rallied during the encampments to demand NYU to divest from Israel and shut down the study-away site at Tel Aviv.

In response to the encampment, NYU called the NYPD who arrested 130 people and brutalized many. Afterwards, the university closed off the plaza to the public and constructed a wall to restrict protests on the plaza.

Students chanted, “We want justice, you say how? Disclose, divest right now!” And “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” People passing by expressed their support for the protesters by chanting along or pumping their fists in the air. Many stopped by to take photos and videos.

Patrick Reddy, member of SDS, spoke to the necessity to oppose the bill and highlighted the repression of protesters by NYU, stating, “We are the students. We pay tuition, we attend classes, we conduct research, and we make up this university community. Our tuition and our presence are part of what allows this institution to function.”

Reddy continued, “And we deserve to have a say in the decisions it makes. I know it can sometimes feel like we're up against something so much bigger than ourselves, between the federal government and NYU's own administration. But we are not powerless.”

Zaara Ahmed, of SDS stated, “We have to demand that our tuition and our university not be used to support institutions and systems that we believe contribute to Palestinian suffering. And we have to defend our right to organize for those demands, even when powerful institutions tell us that we should stop.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Israel #SDS

Madison, WI – Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison gathered in Library Mall, September 16, for the first protest for a sanctuary campus of the semester. Madison Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led the protest, joined by the Black Power Coalition (BPC), United Faculty & Academic Staff, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The event began with a call for students to fight back against ICE and Trump's reactionary policies. Like many cities across the U.S., Madison has seen an uptick in ICE activity. On the day of the rally, federal agents were reported in South Madison, further cementing the need for sanctuary policies.

Lizbeth De Jesus of Madison SDS talked about Trump’s attempts to end the “Duration of Status” rule for student visas. This xenophobic change would put international students, who make up 14% of Madison’s student body, at dire risk.

De Jesus told the crowd, “We need real policies put in place that defend students, staff, and faculty. We need our university to actually stand up and fight back against the backward Trump regime.”

De Jesus concluded, “When we dare to struggle, we dare to win! And we won’t stop fighting until we get what we deserve: a safer campus for every student.”

Evan Epps of the Black Power Coalition stated, “The same systems that over-police Black bodies are the same systems driving immigration raids, separations and terror in our communities.” Evan then turned his speech towards the university itself, “You cannot claim to build an inclusive campus, while allowing state officers to terrorize students on their way to class. Silence from University leadership is not neutrality, it is complicity.”

The rally was the first of many protests this semester as SDS continues its fight for a sanctuary campus.

Now, more than ever, the importance of uniting against Trump is on clear display. Now is not the time for neutrality. SDS and the UW community call on our university administration to take a firm stance against Trump!

#MadisonWI #WI #StudentMovement #SDS

Baton Rouge, LA – On September 14, a coalition of more than seven progressive student organizations at Louisiana State University (LSU) held a press conference to voice sharp opposition to the closing of several cultural centers over summer break. These included the African American Cultural Center, Women’s Center, Latinx Center, LGBTQ+ center, and Multicultural Center.

The press conference was held just hours after students’ representatives from Injustice Reform, Student for a Democratic Society (SDS), Feminists in Action, and the LSU chapter of NAACP met personally with Executive Vice President James Dalton and Senior Vice Chancellor Joseph Messina to discuss their demands. Their meeting was hard-won after students marched on Dalton's office to demand it and attended a board of supervisors meeting to publicly demand this meeting a second time.

“We went into the meeting to demand that all centers were reopened to their full capacity and original functioning. The reasons stated by James Dalton for these changes were ‘eliminating redundancy and cutting costs,’” said Gabi DeJean of SDS.

After meeting for over two hours, the administration refused to reverse these changes in any way. They also refused to send an email communication to the student body to explain what changes have been made to the cultural centers.

At the press conference, the Queer Graduate Student Alliance explained that the LGBTQ+ center has been closed for over a year now, and that this was one of the last places that LGBTQ students were safe on campus. Feminists in Action explained that LSU’s campus has also lost a lactation room, staffing to support victims of sexual assault, and funding for free Plan B and contraceptives for students.

“LSU cares about Black bodies and Black culture when it comes to football, but they don’t care about Black students who pay tuition to go to school here,” said Laketa Johnson. Johnson is the founder of A Belle La Femme, a nonprofit organization that helps get scholarships for oppressed nationality women in college. She is also a key community leader in the fight against the unconstitutional Louisiana redistricting map released earlier this year. Johnson touched on key parallels between Trump and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s agenda and the changes that LSU’s administration is making on campus.

All of the student groups present expressed resolutely that they are opposed to the rollback of DEI and right-wing consolidation.

“We all know that these centers came into being as a result of tireless student protest and public pressure decades before us. So we’re sure as hell not going to let them take it away without that same fight!” said DeJean.

#BatonRougeLA #LA #StudentMovement #SDS #CulturalCenters

Baton Rouge, LA – On August 27, Louisiana State University Students (LSU) marched to the school’s administrative office to demand the university’s cultural centers be restored.

Over the summer, the LSU administration consolidated all four cultural centers under the Office of Academic Affairs. This move effectively shut them down. Additionally, all student and administrative staff were removed without warning.

“These centers were won in the 60s and 70s through political struggle and public pressure, and so we will continue the struggle students on this campus have waged in the past,” said Ziad Eissa, vice president of LSU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

LSU SDS President Margo Wilson and Secretary Gabriela DeJean joined the march and attempted to hand-deliver the students' written demands to LSU Chancellor James Dalton. Upon arrival, Wilson and DeJean were met by several police officers and denied entry for a prolonged period. They were eventually allowed to pass their demands to Dalton’s secretary and demand a meeting with the chancellor to discuss these unjustifiable cuts.

“They want us to think that the world is unchangeable, but we know that when the people dare to fight back, we can change the world,” said Ashley Schmittle, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Students at LSU are determined to keep up the struggle to reopen the cultural centers.

#BatonRougeLA #LA #StudentMovement #SDS #LSUSDS #Featured

New York, NY – On September 10, students from New York University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied outside NYU’s D’Agostino Hall on September 10 to protest the appearance of Jim Campbell, chief legal counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

Campbell came to NYU to speak in support of the Supreme Court’s June decision concerning state restrictions on transgender athletes’ participation in women and girls’ sports. The ADF has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Throughout the afternoon, protesters chanted, “Say it loud, say it clear, Campbell’s not welcome here!” and “Out of the closet, into the streets!” The chants reflected protesters’ opposition to Campbell’s appearance and their belief that providing a platform to speakers advocating restrictions on transgender rights does not represent the values of many students on campus.

Students and passersby stopped to watch the demonstration, with some taking photos and videos, listening to speeches, or joining the chants. Others expressed their support for the protesters.

During the rally, NYU SDS member Zaara Ahmed asked the crowd, “Does this represent us?” Protesters responded with a resounding “No!” Ahmed then asked, “Do we want to provide a platform to someone whose work advocates to remove trans people from public life?” Again, protesters answered in unison.

The exchange captured the central message of the demonstration: protesters argued that NYU’s decision to platform Campbell conflicts with their vision of a campus where transgender students can live and participate in public life without discrimination.

NYU SDS member and rally emcee Ebtesham Ahmed emphasized that the fight would not end with the demonstration, stating that “we will continue to fight back against transphobes on our campus.” They stressed the importance of continuing to defend transgender rights and connected the present struggle to the history of transgender people being pushed into hiding and excluded from public life.

As the rally came to a close, protesters returned to their chants while organizers called on students to stay organized. The demonstration ended with a message that the fight against restrictions on transgender rights, and against the platforming of speakers who protesters view as advocating those restrictions, would continue beyond this rally.

#NewYorkNY #NY #StudentMovement #LGBTQ #SDS

New Orleans, LA – On September 1, a group of students rallied demanding Loyola University New Orleans adopt proper anti-ICE sanctuary policies. This includes visible signage preventing ICE from entering the campus, student and professor representation on the school’s Immigration Task Force, and assurance that Loyola will refuse to collaborate with ICE in any capacity.

At the rally, Loyola student Rosalina Framboise addressed a message to the Loyola administration and President Xavier Cole. Framboise said, “Just because this has not happened on our campus yet, does not mean it is not happening on campuses all over the country.”

Another Loyola student, Fin Jones, said, “When schools and organizations can’t go against the government’s wishes for fear of a target on their backs, we can no longer call ourselves a democracy.”

The rally’s final student speaker, Quesada-Amor, urged Loyola’s administration, “We cannot accept these vile, cruel and unjust enactments carried out by these ICE thugs that only serve to violate the rights of men and women.”

The rally continued a yearlong sanctuary campus campaign led by the Liberate and Unite New Orleans chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (LUNO-SDS). The rally was part of a New SDS National Day of Action calling on all chapters to engage in active protest across their campuses and demand “ICE out now!”

#NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #ICE #LoyolaUniversity #SDS

San Jose, CA – On September 2, San Jose State University intended to host Northrop Grumman at the Fall ‘26 Business, Financial Services, and Logistics Job and Internship fair. Northrop Grumman, a weapons manufacturer which maintains $3 billion in contracts with the Defense Department, is a target for Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) ongoing campaign demanding SJSU cut ties with war profiteers.

In response to Northrop Grumman’s invitation to the campus career fair, SDS at SJSU organized a mail-in and rally calling for the career center and university administration to deplatform war profiteers like Northrop Grumman. The mail-in was a tactic employed by students to flood the inboxes of university administrators leading up to the day of the career fair, and it proved to be an effective one.

On the day of the career fair, as student protesters gathered outside the SJSU Student Union, SDS received notice that Northrop Grumman had completely withdrawn from the career fair. This withdrawal follows a similar incident last semester at SJSU, in which student protesters forced Lockheed Martin to withdraw from a campus informational session.

Despite Northrop Grumman's withdrawal, the students continued with their rally outside the career fair to call out the school administration’s ongoing collaboration with war profiteers, echoing chants such as “When Northrop does the killing, admin makes a killing!”

Panda Shim from SDS stated, “Whether it’s Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman, we will not allow these defense organizations who actively supply weapons to commit genocide overseas and terrorize our immigrant communities onto our campus!”

“SJSU has invited Northrop Grumman to this career fair despite the students making it clear, time and time again, that we will not ever accept war profiteers to do business on our campus. Northrop Grumman is the sixth-largest weapons manufacturer on the planet and has been supplying the U.S. and Israeli air forces with missile delivery systems and laser weaponry for their fighter jets and attack helicopters. Shame!” said Mateo Rodriguez-Deal from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Sharat Lin from San Jose Against War provided words of support, “As you build the anti-war student movement here on campus, know that the people of San Jose support your struggle and are building the anti-war, pro-Palestine movement!”

“Our voices matter, our concerns matter, and what happens to people outside our campus matters. San Jose State should be a place where students can build their futures without having to compromise their conscience. Keep war profiteers off campus!” said Haddy Barghouti from Students for Justice in Palestine to close the rally.

While the students were able to successfully kick Northrop Grumman off campus, their fight is not over. This smaller victory was part of a larger ongoing struggle to push their campaign forward and cut ties with all war profiteers.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #WeaponsIndustry #StudentMovement #SDS #SJAW #Feature

Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, September 1, two dozen students gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Quad on a blazing hot afternoon. The students rallied for a national day of action called for by the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) demanding “ICE off campus!” as well as protection for undocumented students, and a sanctuary campus.

“ICE is an illegal gestapo with the sole purpose to profile, dehumanize and disappear people of color,” said Aidan Shaw, a member of New SDS at UIC.

Shaw continued, “They wear masks because they are cowards and know what they are doing is wrong. They drive unmarked vehicles, because they want to stay untraced, and because their formation has been rushed by a disorganized leader. They do not have badges or warrants, because they do not have training, legal permission from judges, and because they are an illegitimate organization. But the city of Chicago is strong, and we have fought back!”

Speakers recalled the events of the fall 2025-2026 school year, when Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA) led hundreds of students in protesting the ICE kidnapping of two women on campus. Student speakers described the UIC administration’s lackluster response. The two women were eventually released due to their being recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) – a status still actively held by nearly 450,000 immigrants in the United States.

“We all remember the occupation of our city, Chicago, by hundreds of ICE agents and National Guard almost a year ago in what was dubbed ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ by the racist and reactionary Trump administration. Many of us lived in fear of what could happen to ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors,” said Ángel Naranjos, a member of MeSA.

Naranjos explained, “We saw what happened on September 12, 2025, when a Mexican man who was simply dropping off his children to school was racially profiled and murdered by ICE agents. His name was Silverio Villegas, and he should still be alive today. Keith Porter, Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Pierre Damas Bel – a Haitian student who was tragically driven to suicide by this racist administration – should still be alive today!”

Jacob Belencion from Anakbayan at UIC, a Filipino youth and student organization, said, ”ICE is still present on the streets of Chicagoland, and their tactics have changed to be more hidden. In fact, they are now trying to achieve a quota of detaining 2000 people a day. Shame!”

Belencion continued, “Since the start of this administration and the daily terror that ICE has brought upon us, we have seen many of our fellow migrants detained. Filipinos like Kuya J have faced horrible conditions in the detention centers, such as the overcrowded cells where he was forced to drink from the toilet, among others, because ICE did not provide drinkable water. Shame!”

“It is ICE who is terrorizing our neighbors. It is ICE who is ripping through our streets and disrupting our communities,” said Maya Sánchez, a Freedom Road Socialist Organization member.

 “That’s why we need more than reform – we need a socialist revolution to dismantle the system of capitalism that has given birth to the racism and repression that creates bullshit institutions like ICE in the first place! We need to transfer power from the hands of the monopoly capitalists to the hands of working and oppressed people. Only then can we put an end to ICE’s terror,” said Sánchez.

“I’d like to end this protest with a powerful chant popularized by the late Chicago Black Panther – Fred Hampton – who would have turned 78 years old this past Sunday had the government not murdered him in cold blood at the age of 21,” said Ariana Vega, co-chair of New SDS at UIC.

“Dare to struggle! Dare to win!”

Endorsing organizations included Anakbayan at UIC, Fearless Undocumented Alliance, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA) who co-emceed the protest alongside UIC’s New SDS chapter.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #UIC #SDS

Lebanon, IN – On Wednesday, July 29, survivors stood together to protest the abuse and exploitation they faced while at the Refuge Girls Academy (previously Central Indiana Teen Challenge) and brought attention to an ongoing legal case against the academy.

The nine original plaintiffs have expanded to represent 35 survivors who are now fighting the academy's crimes. The long list of crimes of the academy include institutionalized cruelty, physical abuse, labor trafficking, forced malnutrition, religious indoctrination, humiliation rituals, conversion therapy, human trafficking and torture, amongst many more.

All of these crimes were committed against children under the authority of Dawn and Dave Rose, the director and CEO of the academy at the time.

Survivors partnered with Students for a Democratic Society at Purdue and began their protest right outside the academy chanting “Education! Not exploitation!” “This refuge is not safe!” and “Rise up women of the world, women of the world rise up!” One chant in particular highlighted just how many young women suffered under Dawn and Dave Rose’s control. The chant “If [name] don’t get it, shut it down!” went on to name 30 survivors in total. The protest marched across the street to a park where survivors shared their stories.

“20 years ago I entered Central Indiana Teen Challenge. I was 15 years old. I needed help, instead I was left with trauma that has taken over a decade to begin healing,” said Mandi MacDonald, a survivor of the academy. “I want you to understand something. When I entered Teen Challenge I wasn’t allowed to say goodbye to anyone. I was taken from my classroom in handcuffs, and on the way to the program I attempted suicide,” said MacDonald.

MacDonald survived. And after nearly a year at the academy, she eventually earned the “privilege” of a supervised visit with her parents. After the visit, she made an attempt to contact those who missed her on MySpace, something the academy strictly prohibited, and, upon confessing this to her unaccredited counselor, she was severely punished. “Dawn told me I had never admitted what I had done and that they had discovered it on their own. I told them that wasn’t true. I begged them to ask my counselor. My counselor did not support me. In that moment something inside of me broke,” said MacDonald.

MacDonald was stripped of all of her progress at the academy and forced into solitary confinement for two months. She was made to live off a diet of cold beans, bread, carrots and an apple for every meal. During this time, she was forced to perform repetitive remedial tasks which her OCD tendencies made impossible to complete, resulting in the academy banning her from speaking and being spoken to for months.

“Lebanon Teen Challenge broke a lot of things inside of me, but Lebanon Teen Challenge also shaped who I am today. It taught me to not be silent, it taught me to be courageous, and to never give up. And here we are, almost 20 years later, and I finally can speak on this,” said Emelia Neel, another survivor of the academy. “I will not remain silent any longer. I remember… staying up late with Brittany and Bridgett and we would talk about all the things we would do when we get out. Very similar to people who are in prison, except people in prison get to know when they go home. We didn’t!” said Neel.

The Refuge Girls academy preys on young women in vulnerable situations and violates the trust in religious institutions most people have. Parents often see the academy as a safe place to send their children, where they can overcome their hardships and grow up in a healing environment that some parents simply can’t provide. Many of the girls at the academy are orphans, and some homeless, before their time at the academy, a vulnerability the academy sees profit in.

One crime at the academy was unpaid child labor. Residents were forced to maintain the academy itself and were often trafficked across Indiana to perform heavy labor in extreme weather conditions for no pay, all while any medical concerns were completely neglected. Residents were sent to residential homes, religious institutions and universities, including Purdue and Butler University, where they would be made porters for college students, hauling their personal belongings and assembling heavy bunk beds. The children often worked 12 to 16-hour days.

This exploitation was not just a means of profit for the academy, but an avenue for cruel punishment as well. Minors were often made to clean staircases with toothbrushes or cut the lawn with scissors, all while performing every bit of cooking, cleaning and food preparation, as the academy refused to pay professional adult workers for that labor.

The academy brings in millions of dollars in revenue each year. The struggle to bring the Refuge Girls Academy to justice is an issue of women’s liberation, LGBTQ liberation and workers’ rights. Each struggle is connected and all necessary for justice.

Follow @sdsatpurdue on Instagram to stay up to date and join the fight.

#LebanonIN #IN #PeoplesStruggles #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #SDS #Purdue

On July 1st, Nadia Topete was given a subpoena to a grand jury that ordered her to speak on July 8th. Grand Jurys are kangaroo courts meant to bring down the hammer, evidenced by their 90% indictment rate. Law enforcement is not neutral when it comes to activists, like we’ve seen with Mahmoud Khalil and Alejandro Oreana. Law enforcement attacks activists to repress those fighting for a better world. We demand: Hands Off Nadia!

Nadia Topete, a member of Centro CSO, is an immigrant rights activist in Los Angeles. Centro CSO organizes self defense against racist and illegal ICE raids, that makes them heroes. Los Angeles is a city the Donald Trump administration attacked by mobilizing federal troops, even sending marines. This is because of the bravery and amazing work the people of Los Angeles have done in defending their immigrant neighbors. They tried going after Alejandro Oreana with federal charges after an FBI raid and WE BEAT THEM BACK!

SDS has been organizing sanctuary campus campaigns all over the country because we also understand the need to oppose the attacks on immigrants from Trump and his goons. We are standing with Nadia because we understand that this is an attack on the immigrant rights and people’s movement as a whole.

Hands Off Nadia!

#ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NadiaTopete #SDS #StudentMovement #CentroCSO #CSFR

Tampa, FL – On Thursday, May 28, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a press conference to announce an update to their ongoing lawsuit against the University of South Florida (USF) Board of Trustees, the USF Police Department, former President Rhea Law, former Dean of Students Danielle McDonald, and Assistant Dean Melissa Graham.

“Our legal team has appealed the lower court’s decision to dismiss our legal case because we are confident in our suit and in our legal claims that USF has violated our rights. Although we do not have a timeline on the outcome of this right now, we are confident that the court will consider our case and protect our rights as students,” said Tampa Bay SDS member and plaintiff Victoria Hinckley.

The lawsuit was filed on October 8 of 2025, because of continued repression against free speech on campus, including expelling Tampa Bay SDS as an organization, creating policies limiting protest, and expelling SDS member Victoria Hinckley along with charging others with conduct violations.

Ending the press conference, plaintiff Vicky Tong said, “The community should have the right to organize on a public campus. Tampa Bay SDS continues to fight for these rights, and we encourage folks to stand by us and to join our movement for free speech on campus!”

In the meantime, Tampa Bay SDS will continue to organize for free speech on campus.

#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS #FreeSpeech

Directed by Christopher Martin and John Pilger, The War on Democracy (2007) is a sobering and critical examination of the United States’ deadly imperialism in the Americas.

Examining the history from the mid-20th century going to the 2000s, Pilger examines the bipartisan attacks against Latin America, especially on the socialist countries and those that are not aligned with the interests of U.S. imperialists. Special focus is given to the 2002 failed coup d'etat attempt in Venezuela, featuring interviews with Hugo Chávez.

After the documentary, Angel Naranjos, a member of FRSO, led a discussion on what the audience learned, the historical development of American imperialism, the decline of imperialism, the fight for national liberation and how the working class and people of oppressed nations must unite against capitalism and use socialism to crush their enemies.

As imperialism continues to more depraved actions, the conflict between the oppressed nations of the world and the monopoly capitalists sharpens. All over the world, we are seeing examples of freedom fighters defeating and leaving the monopoly capitalists embarrassed and confused. In Iran the U.S.’s imperialist war has backfired spectacularly; Palestinian resistance continues to hold firm against Israel and the U.S., and here in the belly of the beast, the American working class is striking blows against Trump's attacks. If these fights have shown one thing, it has shown that when the people unite against the imperialists, they can win!

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #SDS #FRSO #International #Venezuela

Tampa FL- On Friday, May 1, two high schools in the Tampa Bay area participated in the national call put out by the Legalization for All Network to hold May Day walkouts in remembrance of the Day Without Immigrants mega protests held in 2006.The participating high schools were Middleton and Wharton. Both events were supported by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society and the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee. The protests this year called for slogans such as “Ice out now!” and “Legalization for all!” in response to the Trump administration’s continued attacks on immigrant communities across the country.

At the Middleton walkout, two students participated and still drew attention from the high school administration. As said by ZJ Jeudy, a member of the Middleton’s Students for a Democratic Society, “I organized and participated in the walkout because to me, it’s important to not only speak up for what’s right, but to also demonstrate it even if you are the only one doing it.”

Later in the day at Wharton, high school students participated in a rally after school at the corner of the school premises.

“If you go back to the early 2000s or go back to the 70s, students coming out and protesting is a major part of the Vietnam War timeline, that kind of thing. That’s how you organize,” said Nicole Cochrin, a member of Wharton’s Students for a Democratic Society. “Even if the protest itself doesn’t really do much, it’s going to spark more protests. People are going to make more of a change instead of sitting idly hoping someone else does something for them.”

These actions were two of the many held across the country on May Day for the National Day of Action called by the Legalization for All Network and National Students for a Democratic Society.

#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #L4A #SDS #ImmigrantRights #Highschool #MayDay

Austin, TX – On Friday, May 1, labor unions and activist and student groups took the streets of downtown Austin for International Workers Day. Around 200 protesters marched on the Capitol building chanting and holding signs in support of immigrants and workers’ rights.

Before the march, the Austin Central Labor Council held a tabling fair through the rain, with many union locals, like IBEW and AFSCME, and activist groups, including the Freedom Road Socialist Organization giving out information.

Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Students for International Labor Solidarity, and other student groups led a contingent to the Capitol from the UT Austin campus, demanding that UT cut its ties with a company that provides ICE with vehicles for deportations. The students chanted, “UT stop the lies, cut your ties with Enterprise!”

Daniel Ramirez from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “On May 1, 1886, tens of thousands of workers said ‘enough is enough’ and went out on strike against the bosses and their hired guns. So, when we come out to celebrate the historic workers holiday of May Day, it reminds us that when people are organized, we can land blows against the rotten system we live in. That a better future is possible.”

At the Capitol, SDS talked about the fight against the UT Austin administration as it cut classes and departments that study race and gender. Devon May from SDS talked about how the same Texas government, led by Greg Abbott, that is attacking workers in Texas, is the government that UT admin is bending the knee to.

May said, “Our state government is entirely on the side of the billionaires!” This was met with a flurry of boos and calls of, “Shame,” from the energetic crowd. May ended by highlighting the unity between workers and students, saying “We – the united front of workers and students and immigrants, and everyone else who is tired of living in the shadow of the ruling class – aren’t going to stop until we’ve won everything!”

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #Labor #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #SDS

Chicago, IL – On Friday, May 1, students at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) walked out of class at 10:30 in the morning to demand an end to the deportations, legalization for all undocumented immigrants, and that the university administration take immediate steps to make the UIC a sanctuary campus. Over 100 protesters, a mix of undergraduate students and striking members of the university’s Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) Local 6297, gathered in the UIC quad.

The call for student walkouts across the country on May 1 was put out by the Legalization 4 All (L4A) Network in collaboration with New Students for a Democratic Society (New SDS). At UIC, three student organizations, Anakbayan at UIC, Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA), and New SDS at UIC, answered the call and co-organized their university’s walkout.

The program included speakers from nearly a dozen endorsing organizations. Sathvika Gowda, a member of New SDS at UIC, opened the program stating, “This past year we witnessed Chicago’s immigrant communities on the South and Southwest sides be terrorized by ICE and Operation Midway Blitz. Shame!”

Gowda continued, “At the same time, UIC’s immigrant students have had to come to school in fear, worrying about the wellbeing of their families, friends, neighborhoods and communities. All the while, UIC administration did nothing to protect our immigrant students right here. It has been our cultural centers, their staff and us as the students who have acted to protect and make a safe space for UIC’s immigrant and oppressed students in the face of our administration’s inaction!”

Last year, Chicago was targeted by the Trump administration for a large-scale immigration enforcement operation. For many UIC students, that fall semester at the university was a nightmare as ICE thugs terrorized communities across the city. On October 8, two women were violently kidnapped on campus grounds, leading hundreds of UIC students to protest ICE’s actions and UIC administration’s inaction.

At the time, the university administration refused to condemn the abduction and tried to wash their hands of all responsibility – something they were later forced to walk back. The two women were eventually released from ICE custody, as it was later revealed that they were Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients.

A MeSA member and undergraduate student at UIC spoke next, “Coming from a mixed-status family, I know that we are often encouraged to stay silent to protect ourselves and our families. But I am here to tell you that my family, despite not always being so supportive of my activism, instilled me with a faith that teaches me that a divorce from the conditions of oppressed people is blasphemy, a faith that doesn't work for the people it represents is a faith that is dead!”

A graduate worker representing GEO Local 6297, said, “In bargaining for a better, fair, and equitable contract, the admin has refused to make progress. This union demands a livable wage, affordable healthcare and protections from the fascists in ICE. I believe that we will win – not because it is easy – but because we must.”

Ángel Naranjos, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “May Day is a reminder that the people organized can land blows against this system. Our movements are going to come out of this era stronger than they went in. As students and young people we must remember that the future is ours, but only if we’re willing to fight for it!”

President of New SDS, Erin Boyle, gave the final speech, “We’re up against a dying system that’s trying to crush all that’s good in the world so a few men can stuff their pockets. But we have the opportunity to organize in our communities, in our workplaces and on our campuses, and not alone.”

After the rally, MeSA member Alyson Sanchez introduced an art project that she had been working on titled La Fiesta: Joy as Resistance. Sanchez revealed two piñatas depicting Donald Trump as a pig in orange makeup for protesters to destroy. Students and youth leapt at the chance to participate in the Mexican party tradition and claim some candy.

Then, the students who had walked out gathered once again. They marched off campus and joined the citywide May Day demonstration in Chicago’s Union Park which saw thousands of people, among them many students and youth, participate.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #SDS #MESA #GEO

Bozeman, MT – On Friday, May 1, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Bozeman and Montana State University's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally in support of workers and immigrants’ rights.

The rally featured FRSO Bozeman member Homa Masood, a spokeswoman from Gallatin County’s Community Rapid Response organization (CRR-GC), and SDS member Evan Minadakis, who spoke to 70 enthusiastic protesters, who held signs that proclaimed, “Immigrants built America” and “Trump is a fraud!” A large banner read “No war, no ICE, no billionaires!”

Masood told the crowd, “May Day isn't just about naming oppression. It's about recognizing power, challenging it, and forcing it back into our hands! Every victory in the history of working people came from organization, solidarity and struggle, and that remains true today!”

CRR-GC's spokeswoman attacked the dangerous 287(g) agreement between Gallatin County and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which allows individuals in Gallatin County’s Detention Center who are eligible for release to be held for an additional 48 hours and ultimately be turned over into ICE custody.

FRSO Bozeman’s Julian Staggs spoke to draw attention to the Gallatin High School walkout held earlier that day. About 50 students walked out of class and gathered outside to protest the nationwide ICE raids of terror unleashed by the federal government against the immigrant communities of the United States and stand in solidarity with those communities.

Evan Minadakis brought forward their SDS chapter's recent victory in kicking Customs and Border Protection out of the university's spring Career Fair, focusing on exemplifying for all that the change created by the organized people may truly move mountains.

“Do not let them convince you that you are weak. do not let them convince you that you have no power,” Minadakis said. “Every single person out here today has the ability to shift the tides, to make waves so massive that they take down any forces that try to stand in their way. Progress isn't something we wish for, it is something we fight for! And until every single corrupt, oppressive billionaire is wiped from this earth, we will continue to fight for progress, and we will continue to win!”

The protest’s final chant was one of “Revolution! Revolution! Revolution! Revolution!” International Worker’s Day is a day for celebration of the worker and the oppressed nationalities of the world, and it is a day to intensify the struggle. Bozeman has begun to walk the road to liberation!

#BozemanMT #MT #Labor #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #FRSO #SDS #StudentMovement

New Students for a Democratic Society at UIC decided to hold this film screening as this April marks 24 years since this U.S.-backed attempted coup and the current U.S. attacks on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.

The film showed how Hugo Chávez rose to power by fighting and providing an alternative to neoliberalism, making him popular among the poor and hated by the rich. One of Chávez’s most important issues was using the profits from Venezuela’s abundant oil for social programs to benefit all Venezuelans, instead of simply lining the pockets of the wealthiest.

One key aspect of the film was showing how corporate media in Venezuela slandered and spread lies about Hugo Chávez and the movement he led. This happened throughout the entirety of his political life but culminated during the attempted coup when opposition TV media accused Chavistas of firing on crowds of opposition protesters. However, Barley and O’Briain exposed the holes in this narrative by showing that the channels spreading this narrative purposefully didn’t show the full picture in their video clips and showed how opposition leaders admitted to orchestrating a media plan to overthrow the democratically elected President Hugo Chávez.

In the discussion led by New SDS members Dani Espinoza and Victor Silva, students talked about the events of the film in relation to the current day and issues of corporate media bias against popular movements, the history of U.S. foreign involvement, struggles against neoliberalism around the world and more.

In the discussion, Sathvika Gowda from New SDS explained, “Venezuela is one of the most oil-rich countries in the world and Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian movement have used this money to benefit the common good, which is why they are so hated by the U.S. oil corporations and U.S. government.”

This sentiment was echoed by others who discussed other instances of U.S. involvement in Latin America motivated by extreme corporate greed and disregard for the people of the continent.

Before ending the event, students expressed the importance of standing against U.S. attacks and involvement in foreign countries today, and the need for students to stand against the current U.S. intervention in Venezuela and kidnapping of current President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #StudentMovement #SDS

San Jose, CA – On April 22, Earth Day, over a dozen SJSU students led by Students for a Democratic Society disrupted the campus’ newly opened “AI Center for Civic and Social Good.”

The center opened on March 3 at Dr. Martin Luther King Library and is co-sponsored by the city of San Jose. The center also had the backing of several notable war profiteers, primarily Nvidia, Alphabet and OpenAI. Nvidia and OpenAI both have multi-million dollar contracts with the Department of War, and Alphabet has offered considerable technological support to Israel.

At 1:15 p.m., Students for a Democratic Society gathered outside the MLK Library and began a noise demonstration, aided in their efforts by a drummer. Chants included “AI Center, off our campus!” and “Admin plays with AI while Palestinian children die!”

Most chants drew attention to the complicity of AI corporations in U.S. warmongering, and how those same companies collaborate with SJSU.

While the disruption was happening, some SJSU students entered the library and hung a banner over the AI center, covering the signage which read “AI Center for Civic and Social Good,” and replacing it with the more fitting, “AI Center for War and Genocide.” SJSU administration was present and filmed the students, and about half an hour later they called custodial staff to remove the banner.

The program continued outside with a few speakers. Tim Phan from FRSO spoke on SDS’s ongoing negotiations with university administration and how they connected to the action.

“For the past year since [SDS’s] campaign against Lockheed Martin and companies complicit in genocide, they have demanded a meeting with President Cynthia,” Pham said. “And so far, she has refused to budge.”

Ethan Maruyama, SDS’s Social Committee chair stated, “The common denominator between these companies is that they are providing technology to help the U.S. and Israel surveil and kill civilians; your tuition money is funding this. As students, we want money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation.”

San Jose Against War member and former SDSer Jack McCann told the crowd, “Today marks two years since students at Cal Poly Humboldt occupied a building, fought off the police, and held the campus for a week demanding an end to Israel’s genocide and an end to university investments in companies complicit in this genocide.”

McCann continued, “Today, SJ State partners with companies complicit in the most horrific crimes against humanity. OpenAI provides software to the Israeli military that makes their weapons even more deadly. Nvidia provides the necessary hardware for this to happen. Google provides services for Israel to host their kill lists on. Is this what they mean by ‘Civic and Social Good?’”

The action called attention to AI companies’ many connections with U.S. war and Israeli apartheid, and a part of SDS SJSU’s larger, two-year campaign to pressure SJSU admin to cut ties with war profiteers. SDS is certain to continue mounting disruptions until the university administration finally decides to negotiate on their demands: no tech for genocide, and cut ties with war profiteers.

#SanJoseCA #CA #StudentMovement #SDS #AI

Tallahassee FL, – On Monday, April 20, Tallahassee Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) held a teach-in to inform students and community members on how to combat repression. The event was a part of a coordinated National Day of Action, called in solidarity with Rick Toledo, an organizer at Cal Poly Humboldt who was charged with assault, battery and false imprisonment after a February building occupation protest, which called for the university to divest its funds from Israel’s ongoing genocide.

Among the many important aspects of fighting repression is ensuring that you are public-facing and continue to put public pressure on officials.

“Holding actions is the most important part. We need to show that we’re still fighting,” said Kaiden Rosa, the vice president of Tallahassee SDS, said, “And that’s why you’ll see us rally outside courthouses, oftentimes rallying if there's a university conduct case because we’re going to keep the pressure on.”

Tallahassee SDS is no stranger to political repression. Florida State University has continuously attempted to ignore and repress the organization, recently banning SDS from registration as a student organization for over two years due to “protesting after dark.”

Rosa explained the importance of solidarity and how cases like Rick Toledo's can have ramifications nationwide, stating, “He was suspended from his school and fired, and they’re just trying to turn it against him [and] make it so that the Palestine protests can be more easily silenced, if they can be silenced in one place, they can be silenced anywhere else.”

Attendees also learned more about the case of Alejandro Orellana, an organizer with Centro CSO from Los Angeles, arrested in the wake of the Los Angeles uprising against ICE oppression.

Orellana had his house raided and faced charges of conspiracy, along with aiding and abetting civil disorder, simply for handing out face-coverings to protestors.

During the LA uprising, the LAPD faced scrutiny for its violence against protesters, launching tear gas canisters at protesters and journalists, firing rubber bullets and riding horses over passersby.

A campaign was launched by organizations like Centro CSO to drop the charges against Orellana, and after intense public pressure and outcry, that is what happened.

The Repression Teach-in rang very true for attendees who witnessed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrest of Sadie Carlson at the recent No Kings Protest after marchers stepped into a closed and empty street as the sidewalk ended.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing is solidarity,” Rosa said.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS #PoliticalRepression