Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

YDSA

By Merlin Van Alstine

University of Minnesota students continue to press for divestment from apartheid Israel.  | Annie R-P. /Fight Back! News

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.

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By Chandran Ramasamy

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, June 29, at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), the student organizations Rainbow Guard and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) held a People’s Pride, a pride event hosted by queer people for queer people without corporations and cops. Spokespersons for these two student orgs condemned Dallas Pride for accepting corporate sponsors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

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Activists pose proudly with their citations that ban them from the building at UWM where they disrupted a UW board of regents meeting to get Palestine on the agenda.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Milwaukee, WI – On June 6, the student movement steadfastly continued their efforts to get the University of Wisconsin System to disclose its funds and to divest from the apartheid regime of Israel.

At the June UW System board of regents meeting, approximately 15 students and community members entered the open-session financial meeting to disrupt the scheduled programming.

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By staff

Students march through the Warch Campus Center en route to disrupting a board of trustees meeting on May 16.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Appleton, WI – After a massive rally and march throughout downtown Appleton on May 15 in commemoration of Nakba Day, the very next day, the student movement at Lawrence University took an action unseen on campus in decades.

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By staff

Palestine solidarity encampment at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Milwaukee, WI – On May 12, the 14th day of encampment at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the UW-Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine Coalition reached an agreement with university administration. Students agreed to take down the encampment, known as “Falasteen Lawn,” after hard-fought negotiations and winning one of the strongest agreements in the country.

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By staff

Milwaukee encampment in solidarity with Palestine.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Milwaukee, WI – May 2 marks the fourth day since students, faculty and community supporters flocked to Mitchell Lawn at UW-Milwaukee on April 29 after a massive rally and march. The end of the march saw the rapid assembly of tents and the official launch of an encampment for Palestine, bringing Milwaukee into the national movement sparked by the actions of heroic students at Columbia University and Cal Poly Humboldt.

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By Gillian Rath

Twin Cities students establish Gaza Solidarity Encampment demanding divestment from apartheid Israel. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, April 23 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, student activists set up a Gaza Solidarity encampment. This encampment was organized by the UMN Divest Coalition which is made up of Students for a Democratic Society, Students for Justice in Palestine, Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Climate Justice. The coalition is pushing for the University of Minnesota to cut ties financially with Israel. This means to divest from weapon manufacturers, stop study abroad trips to Israel and stop having defense companies doing recruitment on campus.

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By Ty Lind

Minneapolis, MN – On March 29, the Divest UMN Coalition at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mobilized more than 50 students to celebrate a historic victory in the movement for divestment in apartheid Israel by the university.

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