Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, February 21, around 20 students at the University of South Florida gathered outside of the Marshall Student Center to show their support for affirmative action and diversity programs, and to demand increased Black enrollment at their university. Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called this protest alongside other SDS chapters to bring attention to two U.S. Supreme Court cases which might overturn affirmative action measures, one against Harvard University and one against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Speakers made references to the racist Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, who has demanded numbers for how much funding is spent on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs around the state. This move led Florida community college presidents to announce that they would restrict funding for diversity programs from this point on. He has also blocked the formation of an Advanced Placement course on Black history for high schoolers, and his policies demand that kindergarten through 12th grade teachers remove so-called “critical race theory” (teaching about the racism and oppression against Black, Chicano, Latino, Asian and other nationalities) from their curriculum.

The Florida legislature has passed similarly restrictive legislation barring minors from health care related to gender and sexuality. DeSantis has also begun bearing down on colleges for data on these services and its use by LGBTQ students and staff.

Students have been protesting at USF, calling for increased Black enrollment, since before 2020. In the wake of the Justice for George Floyd uprising, the university administration at the time promised that they would boost recruitment at Black-majority high schools in Tampa to meet this need. But they have not since acted on this promise.

“Here at USF, SDS has been fighting to increase Black enrollment on campus since 2020, but this is a fight that has been around since the 1960s,” said Lauren Pineiro, an organizer with Tampa Bay SDS. “Universities only changed their racist and exclusionary policies and implemented diversity programs because of student activism in the past. Only a strong student movement can save them now.”

Last month, student protesters disrupted the new university President Rhea Law's inauguration to remind her of the school's promise. Cowed by the protesters, Law in her speech said, “Big changes are coming.” But protesters correctly pointed out that these promises still prove empty.

Jaden Patel, an organizer with Tampa Bay SDS, spoke on the topic of education about Black history and said it was fundamental to understanding the United States.

“I had a great teacher in high school who taught me about Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, and racist violence, but who also taught me about great revolutionaries such as Langston Hughes and Malcolm X,” Patel said. “It's essential that Black history be taught in schools. You can't erase what Black Americans have gone through over the last 400 years and then say, 'everyone in America lived happily ever after.' You need to teach the history of the struggle. We need to fight for this to be a part of everyone's education.”

Lauren Pineiro went on to present the protesters' demands: for the university to take a stand and own up to the promise they made three years ago.

“So, are we just going to sit by and let bigots like Ron DeSantis and the majority Republican-backed Supreme Court rip away access to education? Hell no!” Pineiro said. “We must defend affirmative action. We must demand that USF does not comply with any of DeSantis’s attacks on diversity. We demand that they save diversity programs and expand current programs to protect Black, Chicano and Latino students. We demand that USF owns up to its promises and increases Black enrollment now!”

#TampaFL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #AffirmativeAction #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF

Tampa, FL – On July 2, students gathered at the gates of the on-campus residence for the president of the University of South Florida (USF) to demand that the university take measures to increase Black enrollment. Over the past 10 years, the percentage of Black students at the university has been on a steady decline, from a high of 12% a decade ago to the most recent report of 10%. But even the highest percentage is much lower than the demographics of the Tampa Bay area, in which Black people comprise nearly a quarter of the population.

Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led the crowd in chants calling for an increase in Black enrollment, as well as Black faculty and counselors. Tampa Bay SDS also drew attention to the fact that they have been met with pushback from administrators in the past when voicing these demands, with representatives of the university implying that an increase in Black enrollment would negatively affect the school’s graduation rates.

Tampa Bay SDS was joined by members of the Black Student Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who also voiced their frustrations with the lack of equity in the demographics of the university. Jason Berry of the NAACP emphasized, “Often, when we as Black students request something, the request isn’t met or is replaced with general ‘diversity’ rather than resources specifically for Black students.”

Tampa Bay SDS will continue to fight for an increase in Black enrollment at USF until the demand is met.

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #Antiracism #TampaBaySDS #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #IncreaseBlackEnrollment

Tampa, Fl – On April 21 Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) had its most recent email-in for the University of South Florida (USF) to end unnecessary summer tuition fees. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person classes and certain activities at the USF are canceled for the summer semester. Instead of canceling additional tuition fees, USF is planning to charge them at a reduced rate. One of the fees Tampa Bay SDS demands be removed is the distance learning fee, which is a fee per credit hour of online courses. Tampa Bay SDS demands USF remove these unfair fees entirely for summer tuition due to the extra costs that they add to students during the pandemic.

USF administrators responded to the email-in by emphasizing spring semester refunds and said they would reassess the fees in a few weeks, despite summer semester starting during that time. In addition to this response, USF has not publicized the $34.8 million dollars they are receiving under the CARES Act, half of which is required to help students. USF has not released a plan on how to distribute these funds.

USF’s behavior is alarming, considering many college students do not qualify for the $1200 government stipend and are not receiving any additional aid during the pandemic. The office of financial aid opened applications for students to receive aid if they demonstrate need, but many students have been turned down despite being laid off from jobs.

“USF can play a decisive role in ensuring students can still make ends meet by giving refunds and not charging extra fees over summer. Other schools have already done this so it's past due for USF to do the right thing,” said Eithne Silva, member of Tampa Bay SDS.

Tampa Bay SDS will continue demanding USF help its students by canceling these fees and will continue hosting actions to have these demands met despite the pandemic.

#TampaFL #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #TampaBaySDS #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #COVID19

Tampa, FL – On February 25, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a Black Students Matter rally on campus to bring attention to the racist admissions practices that the administration at the University of South Florida (USF) engages in.

Enrollment of Black students at USF has been declining for years and the percent of Black students at USF was the lowest it’s been in the past decade last semester (fall 2019), at 9.4%. This is especially alarming considering that in the Tampa Bay area, where USF is located, Black people comprise 24% of the population.

“We understand how schools like USF partake in acts of anti-Blackness that deny an already marginalized group of people an education,” said Gareth Dawkins, member of Tampa Bay SDS.

Tampa Bay SDS has been confronting administration about this problem and has even met with administrators Dean McDonald, Vice President Paul Dosal, and Vice President of Diversity Dr. Haywood Brown to discuss it. Despite Tampa Bay SDS suggesting methods that have been proven to make college more accessible to historically underrepresented groups, like increasing the financial aid available to Black students and automatically accepting top performing students from all local high schools, the administrators were more concerned with accepting students who were guaranteed to graduate within four years to maintain the university’s status.

During the rally, Tampa Bay SDS brought attention to USF administration’s unwillingness to enroll more Black students, the lack of financial aid available to Black students despite USF’s bloated budget, and USF administration’s continued silence and inaction regarding white supremacist activity on campus.

Regarding their campaign to Increase Black enrollment at USF, Dawkins stated that Tampa Bay SDS “hopes to work with other organizations that also want to increase African American student enrollment at USF and will continue to publicize the declining enrollment because it’s a community issue that concerns all of us.”

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #TampaBayStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Antiracism #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #IncreaseBlackEnrollment

With chants saying, “USF shame on you! Black lives matter too!” the students used the rally to reach out to the student body about the ways that the university continues to be complacent with white supremacy. One member of SDS said, “It’s a continuous struggle to organize at USF, but this event was another step towards increasing Black enrollment at USF.”

This action took place alongside SDS’s Increase Black Enrollment campaign which highlights the university’s lack of Black students and looks for ways that USF can increase Black enrollment.

Black enrollment at USF was 9.4% in fall 2019, whereas the Black population makes up 24% of Tampa. The student group says that a lack of resources and a wave of white supremacy on the campus are responsible for the decrease in enrollment of Black students at USF, and that the university administration needs to do more to reach out to the surrounding community.

The Tampa Bay SDS chapter continues to fight back against racist university policies and stand with students of color and their struggle with white supremacy at USF.

#TampaFL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #TampaBayStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Antiracism #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #JameeJohnson

Tampa, FL – At the University of South Florida, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held their second rally against the President Trump’s and U.S. aggression towards Iran. The protest, attended by around 20 students on campus on January 14, has come in the wake of the assassination of a high-ranking Iranian military figure, Qassem Soleimani.

Along with the threat of more U.S. troops to the region and further hostilities, Iran has been hit by U.S. economic sanctions since 2010. An SDS member told the crowd, “The sanctions have greatly limited the amount of medical resources that Iran can get. This has resulted in the Iranian people not able to get enough medical treatment for common illnesses and have often died from these otherwise treatable diseases and illnesses.”

With chants like “No sanctions, no war! We won’t take it anymore!” and “No justice, no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East!” the students made it clear that the United States’ aggression in the region would be met with further action and protests on the university campus.

Tampa Bay SDS will also be co-hosting an event on January 25 in Downtown Tampa against the potential war on Iran.

#TampaFL #International #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #Iran #US #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #DonaldTrump #TampaBaySDS #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #NoWarWithIran

This event occurred in anticipation of an upcoming December 4 meeting with administration. SDS will be meeting with the Vice President of Student Success Paul Dosa, VP of Diversity and Inclusion Haywood Brown, Assistant VP of Admissions Glen Besterfield, and Dean of Students Danielle McDonald. The meeting will determine the future of how USF will address Black enrollment on campus, which has continuously declined over the past ten years.

As of 2018, Black enrollment was 10.7% of the student body on the Tampa campus, and has never exceeded 12%. As of November 19, undergraduate Black enrollment stands at 9.9%, an all-time low. This is especially stunning because the community surrounding USF is nearly 27% African American.

This demographic skew occurs at the same time as an increased white supremacist presence at USF. Spray-painted racial slurs and racist propaganda have appeared semi-regularly since 2017.

“It’s up to USF administration whether or not they will truly address the gap that exists between the surrounding community and the bubble of campus. How they choose to move forward will not only determine how many community members will have access to quality education, but also how ‘welcome’ white supremacist forces will feel on campus,” said Tampa Bay SDS member Elizabeth Kramer.

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #Antiracism #TampaSDS #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #IncreaseBlackEnrollment