News and Views from the People's Struggle
Tallahassee, FL – Tuesday, November 19, Student Activists at Florida State University came together to condemn the institution’s complicity in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. Student demonstrators laid themselves along the graveled concrete, just outside one of the campus’s most busy academic buildings and refused to move – symbolizing the 40,000 plus Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
As the first step of our national campaign to defeat Trump, National SDS is calling for a national week of action during the week of Trump’s inauguration, from November 20th through November 24th. SDS invites other student organizations and groups to protest the week of January 20th. National SDS encourages our chapters to take up campaigns against Trump’s policies and attacks on education and to demand that their campuses shut down Trump’s agenda. We will be rallying to say, “Defeat Trump’s Agenda!”
Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, December 17, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a press conference to announce a Title VI complaint against the University of South Florida had been filed, to demand that USF reverse the expulsion of Tampa Bay SDS, and to defend the right to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Members of a local organization, the Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, attended the press conference and gave statements in solidarity with Tampa Bay SDS.
San Jose, CA – On Wednesday, November 20, around 40 students gathered at San Jose State University to protest the incoming second Trump presidency and the university’s ties to Lockheed Martin.
New Orleans, LA – About 25 people filled the benches at Municipal Court, December 12, to witness proceedings against two protesters from the Tulane-Loyola University Gaza encampment, which took place this past spring. These Palestine solidarity activists faced misdemeanors for trespassing and resisting arrest. The court dismissed both charges without trial for one of them, Brenna Byrne, because the Tulane University Police Department (TUPD) witness didn’t show up.
Orlando, FL – From November 18 -26 students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) participated in a week of action that featured multiple protests for Palestine, and an observance of the Trans Day of Remembrance.
Madison, WI – In a show of student power, nearly 50 protesters marched into the UW board of regents meeting Thursday, December 5, to put Palestine and divestment on the Finance Committee agenda.
This latest militant action comes after a large-scale administration failure to uphold the Madison and Milwaukee encampment agreements on disclosure and divestment from apartheid Israel.
Tacoma, WA – More than 20 students rallied at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma on November 22, to condemn Donald Trump’s win in the presidential election and demand justice for Palestine. Protesters headed to the entrance of the school, where campus tours were being held. Students and community members voiced their anger and demanded justice.
San Jose, CA – On the evening of Saturday, November 23, around 30 community members gathered at Saint James Park to honor members of the trans community who are no longer with us, as well as the Palestinians who have been martyred over the past year. The action was organized by the San Jose People’s Pride coalition.
Denver, CO – On Friday, November 29, approximately 200 people gathered at James N. Manley Park in Denver for a rally and march in recognition of International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an annual UN-recognized observance that calls for sovereignty for the Palestinians as well as freedom from Israeli occupation. In the U.S., this there were protests against the U.S. government’s continued support of the Israeli occupation and its crimes against Palestine, especially the ongoing genocide in Gaza where over 40,000 people have been massacred.
After listening to speeches from organizations leading the march, protesters took to the streets and marched around the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
Due to Black Friday, the Cherry Creek shopping center was busier than usual. While protesters were marching outside, several dozen activists started a disruption inside the mall with chanting, signs and Palestine flags. Many shoppers joined in the chanting and some even joined the march as it left the mall and joined the larger demonstration outside. Once outside, the march continued back to the park, stopping along the way for more speeches.
“Students have a long history of fighting alongside those resisting oppression,” said Lucia Feast, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society, “We have fought with those resisting the Vietnam War, and demanded divestment from apartheid South Africa. Today we continue this liberation struggle by standing with Palestine!”
The message from protesters was clear: there will be no business as usual while the United States continues to aid the genocidal Israeli occupation.
#DenverCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS
Tampa, FL – On Monday, November 25, a group of students and community members held a rally to demand free speech on campus. The University of South Florida’s (USF) administration continues to deny students the right to free speech and assembly, with police saying they cannot hold events or even leaflet.
Appleton, WI – In the biting cold of a Wisconsin evening, over 100 community members gathered on November 20 at Houdini Plaza with cider and a shared revolutionary spirit to keep them warm. As trans and gender fluid voices rang out, their message echoed through Outagamie county with unmistakable clarity: “Trans sanctuary now! We won’t back down!”
Tampa, FL – On Friday, November 22, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally to say no to Trump as part of National SDS’s Day of Action on November 19 against Trump’s agenda.
Milwaukee, WI – On November 21, the UWM Popular University for Palestine (PUP) Coalition took bold action to rename the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library. As part of the National Students for Justice in Palestine’s International Strike for Palestine, students hand-delivered a petition signed by over 500 students, alumni, faculty and community members. The petition, denounced UWM’s dehumanizing language and policies toward Palestinians, and was brought to Chancellor Mark Mone’s office. The protest ended in a banner drop at the campus library, and a call for renaming the building to Electa Quinney Library.
New Orleans, LA – Protesters gathered twice at New Orleans Municipal Court during the week of November 18, as six activists who were arrested during the student-led Popular University for Gaza encampment attended their first days of trial.
They all face misdemeanor charges, ranging from trespassing to battery on an officer. The activists were all arrested by Tulane University Police Department in the first hours of the Encampment, which was held for two nights in April and May this year.
New Orleans, LA – On November 15, students from the University of New Orleans gathered outside of the Administrative Annex to protest the school’s sudden decision to charge students for an entire semester’s worth of parking decals, with only three weeks of the semester left in the year.
Tallahassee, FL – On Wednesday, November 19, students at Florida State University came face to face with the horrors of Zionism when they went to class. Outside FSU’s largest classroom building, 15 members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) from Tallahassee and Jacksonville laid on the ground, standing in for the corpses of Palestinians murdered by Israeli forces. They held signs documenting the names and stories of martyred civilians, while speakers condemned FSU’s partnership with arms manufacturers which supply t state of Israel.
Austin, TX – On Wednesday, November 20, a group of around 40 pro-Palestine students and community members rallied to demand that the University of Texas (UT) divest from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The rally was held outside the UT Systems Building in downtown Austin, where the UT board of regents quarterly meeting was taking place.
Aurora, CO – On November 17, around 40 members of the Aurora community gathered in front of Aurora Police Headquarters to hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Kory Dillard and to speak out against the system that unjustly ended his life.
New Orleans, LA - On November 13, students packed a room to hear about their university’s difficult financial future and anincreasingly bloated and unaccountable administration.