News and Views from the People's Struggle
Arlington, TX – On November 8, almost a dozen University of Texas at Arlington students gathered in the mall in front of the University Center to protest the Israeli bombing of Jabalia Camp, one of the largest refugee camps in Gaza.
Austin, TX – On Thursday, November 9, students at UT Austin held multiple Palestine solidarity actions in response to the national day of action to Shut it Down for Palestine.
San Jose, CA – Student activist Gia Davila of the Tampa 5 visited San Jose on October 26, as part of the Justice for the Tampa 5 national speaking tour. She spoke at two events about how the Tampa 5’s struggle against systems of repression became personal when they were brutalized by the police and betrayed by the justice system.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 500 University of Minnesota community members gathered on the Northrop Mall and inside of Morrill Hall over the course of two days for a public reading of the known names of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed during the ongoing genocide in Gaza since October 7.
Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, November 1, the day President Joe Biden visited Minnesota, students at Augsburg University in Minneapolis held a “die-in” to make conspicuous and visible the slaughter of 3500 Palestinian children – as of that day – during the ongoing bombing of Gaza by Israel. This was one of several Wednesday actions by Palestine solidarity activists confronting Biden from the moment he arrived in Minnesota until he left.
Milwaukee, WI – 30 students, faculty and others attended a town hall meeting with the new Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Andrew Daire, at the Fireside Lounge on the campus of UW-Milwaukee (UWM) on October 31. Some of those in attendance were mobilized to the meeting by the UWM chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
The purpose of the talk was to present on the current enrollment situation at the university. Numbers have declined steadily since 2010 with nearly 7000 fewer students attending UWM in 2023 than a decade ago. One of the most glaring enrollment statistics is that UWM’s student body is only 6% Black. For context, Milwaukee has a population that is roughly 40% Black, and Milwaukee Public Schools has a student body which is 50% Black.
“The discrepancy between enrollment numbers of Black students at UWM and the population of Milwaukee and the public schools is despicable. It demonstrates that there is an overall lack of commitment from the administration at this university to live up to their claims of being a diverse and inclusive campus,” said Patricia Fish, a leader in SDS.
SDS members grilled the provost with questions about what he and the administration were going to do to address the situation, but Daire proved skillful in spending a lot of time saying nothing of substance and passing the buck on to others, claiming that he “has no power” to make the changes he wants.
The efforts around holding Daire’s feet to the fire are a part of SDS’s broader campaign to increase Black enrollment at UWM, which also includes demands around increasing the hiring of Black faculty and staff, the targeted recruitment of Black students from Milwaukee Public Schools, an increase in the scholarships and other financial aid offered to incoming students as well as for those students already attending UWM to assist with retention, and defending and expanding the funding for the Black Student Cultural Center.
Denver, CO – On November 1, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Denver gathered to protest the budget mismanagement by the administration of the Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Los Angeles, CA – On October 28 two events were held to educate and fundraise for five women who were brutally arrested on University of South Florida (USF) campus for protesting against Governor Ron DeSantis’ attacks on public education and diversity. These women, who are now facing felony charges for their activism, are called the Tampa 5.
Orange County, CA – On Friday, October 27, over 30 students and community members gathered across two events to listen to Gia Davila of the Tampa 5 on her stop of the Justice for the Tampa 5 speaking tour. The Tampa 5 are a group of students, workers, and community activists who were violently arrested while protesting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ racist attacks on education at the University of South Florida. They are facing up to ten years in prison and are on a speaking tour to call for these unjust charges to be dropped.
Minneapolis, MN – On October 31, students at Washburn High School in south Minneapolis held a walk-out for Palestine. Around 50 students, primarily Muslim girls, walked out of class of the public high school at 1:30 p.m. After walking out the front doors with signs in hand they marched through the neighborhood chanting “Free free Palestine!” The march was met with honks of approval by cars driving by and eventually ended a few blocks away at Fuller Park.