Tampa, FL – Over 30 University of South Florida students protested the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Oct. 9. The demonstration occurred at the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on USF Tampa’s campus and was hosted by Tampa Bay SDS. Chants at the protest included “We believe her, we believe Christine!” and “Hell no, we won’t budge! We don’t want a rapist judge!”

Members of SDS gave speeches on topics such as the history of patriarchy and its relation to class society, why people like Kavanaugh should not be in power, the importance of receiving consent, and the consequences of Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Students walking to and from class stopped to listen and joined in chanting.

“We can oppose Kavanaugh’s confirmation by staying diligent and fighting back against the system that oppresses and silences our voices and listens to the 1%,” said SDS member Sanjukta Battacherjee. Taylor Cook, also an SDS member, said Kavanaugh “is a rapist and a liar and rapists do not belong in our government or in any positions of power!”

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #courts #BrettKavanaugh #womensMovement

Denver, CO – On October 4, Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) joined a nationwide protest against Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, which is scheduled for Saturday. The students gathered at the Auraria campus with signs reading, “Cancel Kavanaugh,” “Convict Kavanaugh” and “Stand with survivors.” Members also chalked the sidewalk with the same slogans, which remained long after the protest ended.

Many students as well as faculty members felt negatively about Kavanaugh and supported the protest. When asked what the protest was for, SDS member Kyle Burrows said that it was “to stand in solidarity with sexual assault survivors as well as condemn the patriarchal system that often prevents them from finding justice.”

#DenverCO #StudentMovement #InJusticeSystem #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #US #PeoplesStruggles #DonaldTrump #BrettKavanaugh

Oshkosh, WI – Members of United Action Oshkosh (UAO) and UW-Oshkosh Students for a Democratic Society (UWO SDS), as well as supporters from the broader community, gathered at the Opera House Square in downtown Oshkosh to stand in solidarity with survivors and victims of sexual violence. The emergency rally was centered on the ongoing confirmation process of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, specifically related to the many rape and abuse allegations brought forward by women from his past.

The demonstration, emceed by UAO member Lindsey Spietz, consisted of chants attacking Kavanaugh and the system that enables people like him. Residents of Oshkosh driving by or out for an evening stroll responded with honks and calls of approval. A few even stopped by to personally thank the activists for speaking out for survivors.

“As a survivor, I was honored to lead the chants in my city, alongside others who had also experienced some type of violence,” Spietz said. “Victims rarely, if ever, get the chance to speak out or report what has happened to them. Abusers continue to go free in our country. This moment, this national action, is not only empowering but necessary for our society to acknowledge and fight for the rights of survivors of violence, perpetrated by the patriarchal capitalists in this country.”

Kavanaugh is only the most recent example of the ugly reality that the wealthy elites in this country expect to live by a different set of rules than the rest of us, and that men in particular occupy spaces in society that rarely call into question their repugnant behavior. Despite the difficulty of having to relive past traumas, Spietz has faith in the power of the people.

“The voices of survivors and the masses that support them will not be denied, no matter the outcome of the Kavanaugh nomination,” she said “We will continue the fight.”

The call for justice and accountability is something that resonates with a wide range of people because of its applicability to a number of different struggles. For example, the fight against sexual violence and patriarchy is in line with the fight against police crimes.

When the police are responsible for policing their own activity, victims of their criminal behavior – sexual or otherwise – authentic accountability is impossible to achieve. With this in mind, UAO and UWO SDS are co-hosting their first informational meeting on a police accountability council, why Oshkosh needs one, and how we can win it on the evening of October 16 at Reeve Memorial Union on campus at UWO. As ever, the struggle for justice for those who have been wronged by this parasitic system presses onward.

#OshkoshWI #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #Wisconsin #BrettKavanaugh #womensMovement

Minneapolis, MN – On October 4, youth and community members across the country participated in a national day of action to protest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and to support survivors of sexual violence. Organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), more than 50 people gathered at the University of Minnesota's Coffman Memorial Union, while more than 3000 people gathered in Washington D.C. and scores of cities across the country, to protest Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While Republicans in the U.S. Senate appear to want to push through the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh, students and community members rallied to demonstrate the illegitimacy of a process that fails to grapple with credible accusations of sexual assault and to stand with survivors of sexual violence.

Speakers from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Anti-War Committee (AWC), and Black Lives Matter – Saint Paul spoke alongside Erin Murphy, a progressive gubernatorial hopeful in Minnesota's DFL primary race and politician who has consistently championed 'affirmative consent' laws in the state and on campuses.

Attendees were appalled that Kavanaugh is being pushed through the confirmation process with so little attention to his problematic history – which involves his participation in a much maligned fraternity at Yale – a fraternity which was also sanctioned at the U of MN as a result of a sexual assault in 2010 – and the fact that Kavanaugh represents a stark, reactionary agenda.

Skyler Dorr, with Students for a Democratic Society, said “The FBI won’t stop Kavanaugh. Senators like Lindsey Graham won’t stop Kavanaugh. So who here will? All of us. We’ll follow Students for a Democratic Society’s national lead and protest every day in every corner of this country to say ‘We believe survivors!’”

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #UniversityOfMinnesota #rapeCulture #DonaldTrump #BrettKavanaugh