Gainesville, FL, – On Nov. 19, University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally against police militarization in Turlington Plaza. Nearly three dozen students gathered at this busy spot where crowds of students walk by between classes. The student activists held signs saying, “Opt out of the 1033 program,” and “Schools don’t need soldiers.”

Student organizers handed out pamphlets explaining the 1033 Program and how the University of Florida and Alachua County receive weaponry through it. The 1033 Program is an initiative of the Department of Defense where surplus military grade weapons are given to local police departments, including university police departments. These departments have to pay to upkeep these weapons, which, depending on the items, can become very costly.

Tristan Worthington, an organizer with SDS, led the rally and amped up the crowd chanting, “When I say ‘opt out’, you say ‘now!’” She then emphasized, “As responsibly aware citizens, we have to work to ensure that police departments do not have unbridled reign in pursuing unnecessary armament. Police are supposed to be citizens protecting citizens, not soldiers quelling the voice of the masses.”

Chris Cassada, President of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, spoke at the rally. He said, “Students should care about demilitarizing the police because tuition money should be spent solely on furthering education, not on arming campus police with dangerous weapons. The required usage of the weapons within a year also creates a false incentive to use the weapons against students.”

Throughout the rally three university administrators watched from the edge of the crowd. At the end of the event, they approached some of the organizers and asked them whether or not they’re planning on escalating these actions. One of the SDS organizers simply said, “We’ll see you on Dec. 3.” SDS is planning to hold a final action against police militarization on Dec. 3 where they plan on speaking with administrators.

#GainesvilleFL #UniversityOfFloridaUF #GainesvilleSDS #antiPoliceMilitarization #1033Program

Gainesville, FL – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a banner-signing event, asking students to pledge to stand against rape and sexual violence both on and off campus. SDS also provided literature on consent and ways for students to help prevent sexual assault. By the end of the day, around 50 students had signed the pledge banner.

The event comes just weeks after the latest in a string of sexual assaults on and around the University of Florida (UF) campus. The event was in response to a UF Student Government event, asking students to sign a pledge to “Never Walk Alone.” An SDS organizer explained, “Such language puts blame on victims of sexual violence and does nothing to address the true cause of sexual assault.”

The anti-rape banner had the hashtags #ItsNotGreatUF and #WeAreAware, playing off of and satirizing the hashtags, #ItsGreatUF and #BeAware, that UF Student Government used during their event.

Every hour, during the 15-minute class change period, SDS members made short speeches to crowds of students while handing out flyers about consent. Using humor and sarcasm to win over students, SDSers leafleted the “10 Top Tips to End Rape.” Including tips such as, “6. Use the buddy system! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.”

Farah Khan, lead organizer with SDS said “I think this type of event is necessary as it’s quite obvious that UF and UFPD have no interest in targeting the actual problem we have here: rape culture and patriarchy.”

McKenzie Walker, an SDS member, noted, “Despite the negative responses from some men, those that signed gave us hope. There is a strata of men on campus who want to end, rather than fuel, rape culture and share their support with others.”

#GainesvilleFL #StudentMovement #SDS #GainesvilleSDS #antirape #rapeCulture

This convention will last a day and a half, ending in the afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 28. Workshops, collective breakouts and plenary sessions, all led primarily by students themselves, will highlight and feature a multitude of issues, including SDS’s primary national campaigns: education rights, ending wars and ending political repression of activists.

“The SDS convention is one of the most important things our organization does in a given year, because it brings young activists together throughout the country to not only consolidate ourselves around our primary national campaigns, but also to learn from our peers about issues we may not know about and become better activists.” Stephanie Taylor of the University of Minnesota SDS chapter explains.

Speaking at the convention will be Noor Elashi, a journalist and award winning author. Noor Elashi is also a longtime advocate for her father Ghassan Elashi, an American Palestinian political prisoner and one of the imprisoned Holy Land Five charity leaders. Also present will be Tom Burke, who is a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Burke was a leader of the Progressive Student Network while in college and became a labor and international solidarity activist, launching the Coca-Cola boycott to support Colombian unions in 2003.

Other student organizations and individuals have also been invited to attend this year’s convention. Organizations expected to attend include the Dream Defenders, Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Occupy Colleges and others. Skye Schmelzer of University of Florida- Gainesville SDS says, “In light of our exciting merger with Occupy Colleges, this year’s convention aims to unite various student organizations in hopes of building a stronger, united student movement.”

The SDS convention will be held at the J. Wayne Reitz Union Building in Gainesville. For more information and a full agenda of the events visit www.newsds.org or email gainesvillesds@gmail.com.

#GainesvilleFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #UniversityOfFlorida #GainesvilleSDS

Gainesville, FL – Over 200 students, community activists and supporters rallied and marched from the University of Florida campus to the downtown FBI office on March 26, demanding justice for Trayvon Martin. Organizers of the rally brought forward two main demands: Arrest George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin and fire the police involved in the case for obstructing justice and covering-up the truth.

Protesters gathered in the blazing sun near Turlington Plaza on the University of Florida campus to begin the event and listen to speakers demanding justice for Trayvon Martin. Several local media stations filmed the activists and aired some of the more outstanding speeches. Speaking about the racism and oppression faced by African-Americans, Chief Steward Jose Soto of Graduate Assistants United said, “We are not one nation as our pledge suggests. We are many nations. We gather here today, just as we rallied for Kofi Adu-Brempong two years ago this month, to demand justice and self-determination for African American people.” Kofi Adu-Brempong is an African Graduate Teaching Assistant shot in the face, inside his own home, by a racist campus cop. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a campaign that led to the racist cop’s firing and a settlement for Adu-Brempong.

The rally chanted, “Arrest George Zimmerman! Justice for Trayvon!” Next the students marched to the nearby Institute of Black Culture. There, African American and other student speakers emphasized their demands for the killer and the police to be brought to justice in the Trayvon Martin case. The activists and their allies began a mile long march to downtown Gainesville to deliver their demands to the local FBI field office. Gainesville Area SDS member Skye Schmelzer led several chants: “Jail the killer, fire the cops, without Justice, we won't stop!”

Despite the intense hostility and best efforts of local law enforcement, the 200-strong chain of people stormed onto University Avenue, blocking an entire lane of traffic. Cops shouted at the protesters to get back onto the sidewalk, but the angry crowd ignored them. At one point, two police cars tried to block the road by turning sideways in front of the march, but Gainesville Area SDS member Conor Monroe bravely jumped out to keep the road from being closed. The police cars came close to trapping Monroe's leg in between the bumpers of their cars, but the way forward remained just large enough for the crowd to push on through the police cars.

After the mile-long march was over, the crowd arrived at the foot of the FBI Field Office in Gainesville. The main doors into the building were locked, but members of Gainesville Area SDS found a secondary entrance. A ten-person delegation made their way upstairs to the FBI Field Office, which was located inside a Wells Fargo bank. Meanwhile, the crowd chanted, “No justice, no peace, no racist police” outside.

Inside the FBI Field Office, the delegation demanded a meeting with a member of the FBI. FBI officials demanded that the delegation leave the building and claimed that the police were on their way. “The police followed us here as we marched in the streets, and they're standing around outside, what do you mean they're on their way? We want a meeting to present our demands to the FBI,” SDS member Cassia Laham shouted back.

Standing their ground, the activists pressured the FBI officials into taking their list of demands up to their superiors before they were satisfied enough to leave the building. The organizers called upon the crowd to continue the struggle to win justice for Trayvon Martin by joining them in Sanford, Florida on March 31 for a mass demonstration in the town of the Martin’s shooting.

#GainesvilleFL #StudentMovement #InJusticeSystem #AfricanAmerican #KofiAduBrempong #GainesvilleSDS #TrayvonMartin

Gainesville, FL – Students at the University of Florida (UF) got a real taste of fear this past week when members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) hosted the “Tuition Hikes House of Horrors.” SDS created a walk in haunted house filled with information about the scary 15% tuition hikes the University of Florida administrators are imposing.

Detailing the University president's $1.2 million salary and the state's plans to increase tuition by 7-8% each year for the next decade, participants were introduced to SDS's Student Budget Proposal. The student proposal emphasizes using the University's billion-dollar emergency endowment fund and demands that UF “chop from the top,” instead of shifting the crisis onto the students and faculty of the university.

Dave Schneider of Gainesville SDS said, “It's important that students not only become aware of the horrifying facts about tuition hikes, but that they take an active role in opposing the administration's plans to commercialize our education. If they had their way, UF wouldn't be a place of learning anymore – it'd be a degree mill and an easy big paycheck for the administration and their cronies.”

#GainesvilleFL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #UniversityOfFloridaUF #tuitionHikes #GainesvilleSDS