Minneapolis, MN – On August 30, 150 University of Minnesota students, staff, faculty and community members rallied and marched from Morrill Hall to McNamara Plaza in response to the Board of Regents vote that happened earlier this week.

The Board voted on a resolution that would impose political and institutional neutrality on the university’s endowment fund. This vote was pushed by new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. It effectively makes any sort of divestment from Israel, or weapon manufacturers and other entities complicit in war crimes and human rights violations, impossible. It takes away any accountability that administration has to its students, to its staff, or to its faculty.

Salt Lake City, UT – Over a dozen students and youth gathered on August 30 to launch a campaign against the University of Utah’s affiliation with the University of Haifa, an Israeli university with deep ties to the Israeli military and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

Utah Students for a Democratic Society hosted the event, which was itself a victory in the aftermath of arrests, intimidation and repression of the student and Palestinian movement in Utah during the last academic year.

Denver, CO – On August 28, Denver Students for a Democratic Society held a rally and march against the repression of student organizers who have been demanding that the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of Colorado – Denver cut financial ties with Israel.

Brooklyn, NY – The NYU Students for a Democratic Society held a pro-Palestine rally on August 26, during welcome week for the incoming freshman class at New York University Tandon School of Engineering (NYU Tandon).

The goal of the rally was to make sure the incoming freshman class was aware of the ties that NYU Tandon had to the ongoing genocide in Gaza through the school’s partnerships, sponsorships, research funding, and investments with military companies and companies aiding apartheid Israel.

Denver, CO – On Thursday, August 22, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Colorado Denver kicked off the semester with a pro-Palestine rally and march on the Auraria campus. The 40-person rally was addressed by members of SDS and a speaker from Denver Anti-War Action.

Chicago, IL – More than 11,000 people marched for Palestine on the final evening of the Democratic National Convention, August 22. While Kamala Harris was giving her presidential nominee acceptance speech inside, the protesters outside chanted against the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza. Delegates inside the convention report hearing demonstrators on the streets inside the convention hall.

Chicago, IL – On August 19, hundreds of students from across the country traveled to Chicago to march on the Democratic National Convention. Wrapped in khaffiyehs, holding banners, signs and Palestine flags, they gathered as early as 8 a.m. at Union Park for the noon rally and march.

Chicago, IL – On August 19, over 20,000 people marched on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel and an end to the genocide in Gaza. The march was the result of over a year of work by the Coalition to March on the DNC. Marchers came within sight and sound of the Democratic National Convention, putting heat on United States government as it facilitates a genocide.

Hatem Abudayyeh, the national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, told the crowd, “Black liberation, immigrant rights, reproductive rights, women's rights, workers’ rights, the right to strike, the right to unionize. The rank-and-file workers are here, the Black community members are here, the documented and undocumented immigrants are here, how powerful this is to be together here, all of us.”

Milwaukee, WI – On Wednesday, July 31, political repression reached a new low at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as all five student organizations in the UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition were suspended for alleged “threatening and antisemitic” remarks on social media. The students responded with a march on August 5.

The Popular University for Palestine Coalition includes the UW-Milwaukee chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Un-PAC and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA). According to the UWM administration, these student groups were deemed a threat to safety on campus. In reality, however, the only threat they posed is to the U.S. war machine and the pro-Israel status quo.

Tampa, FL- On Friday, August 9, SDS held an event near University of South Florida, speaking out against the university’s refusal to disclose their investments and divest from companies involved in Israel’s attacks, and the USF decision to suspend international student Joseph Charry, as well the expulsion of senior Victoria Hinckley, who was a single assignment away from graduating.

After four months since the initial Gaza solidarity encampments, Students from the University of South Florida continue to rally around demands surrounding their university’s response to the student-led protests. Students have faced conduct charges, suspensions and expulsions for their participation in these encampments, as well as formal legal charges that have resulted in jail time.

Denver, CO – On Monday, July 29, the Protest Defense Committee and Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) gathered students and community members outside of the Lindsey-Flanigan courthouse to oppose the ongoing repression resulting from the Auraria Encampment for Palestine.

Rallying in the early morning, before a number of court appearances for people with citations and arrests related to the encampment, the group gathered calling for all charges to be dropped. In total, 80 cases have been filed as a result of the encampment.

Jacksonville, FL – On Monday, July 29, around 75 attendees gathered at Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park in Jacksonville for a vigil honoring the life of Sonya Massey.

Tampa, FL - On Saturday, July 27, the pro-Palestinian community of Tampa held a rally on 56th and Fowler. Around 50 members of the community were present, including the organizations Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Milwaukee, WI – On July 28, the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) held their second annual protest of the Milwaukee Air & Water Show. Around 70 people gathered at Cathedral Square Park, less than half a mile from Bradford Beach where the show was being held, before marching through downtown Milwaukee to the doorsteps of the show.

Austin, TX – Joe Biden was set to speak at the University of Texas at Austin on Monday, July 16, and the Austin community was prepared to greet him with a massive protest to demand that he stop funding the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Biden cancelled his trip at the last minute, but around 70 people still gathered outside the Texas Capitol Monday evening, to show Biden that the people will not stand for the killings of Palestinians in Al-Mawasi, or for any part of the U.S. backed genocide in Gaza.

Tampa, FL – On July 10, around 50 students and community members rallied and marched in support of students targeted by the University of South Florida (USF) for participating in a Gaza Solidarity encampment in April. Two students, Joseph Charry and Victoria Hinckley, were suspended and expelled respectively by the university, and now a third, Icarus Jaspard, was hit with code of conduct charges.

New Orleans, LA – On July 15, at least 13 New Orleanian activists will join thousands to march on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. This baker’s dozen is a group of leaders and organizers from Black liberation, labor, student and gender liberation movements.

“We are the phantom that haunts them in their sleep”

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the University of Central Florida Students for a Democratic Society (UCF SDS) in Orlando, Florida.

On June 18, an appeal was filed by UCF student and SDS member Marcus Polzer regarding the Formal Panel hearing that found Polzer in violation of two counts of Disruptive Conduct. Students have the right to appeal the findings of the hearing only on the basis of one or more of the following:

Minneapolis, MN – For the seventh year running, community members disrupted the Twin Cities Pride parade, June 30, to protest the inclusion of cops and corporations. Their inclusion comes at the expense of queer community members who want the event to honor the spirit of radical resistance Pride came out of and to continue the fight for LGBTQ liberation. This year, more than 1000 protesters marched with the Taking Back Pride Coalition for not only LGBTQ liberation, but especially for Palestinian liberation.

Grand Rapids, MI – In response to the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC), a coalition of grassroots organizations is mobilizing Michigan residents for a march in Milwaukee on July 15 to protest the RNC.