New York, NY – On February 25, over 20 NYU students, faculty and workers picketed the board of trustees meeting demanding they disclose and divest from all companies supplying Israel in its genocidal occupation of Palestine.

In addition to disclosure and divestment, the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition demanded the closure of the NYU Tel Aviv campus, built upon stolen Palestinian land, and the reversal of all suspensions and probation charges of Palestine student activists. The coalition’s demands aim to cut the university’s ties to the state of Israel.

As board of trustee members were escorted into their meeting by campus security officers, they were confronted by picketersdemanding that they disclose and divest. As the meeting went on, picketers chanted “Trustees pick a side, justice or genocide” and “We want justice you say how! Answer our demands now!”

The picket was called for by the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition, which consists of the NYU Students for a Democratic Society, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Shut It Down NYU, NYU Graduate Student Workers Union – UAW, and several other organizations.

The participating organizations vow to continue their fight against NYU, no matter what repressive tactics are thrown their way. They will continue struggling until they win all their demands.

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY #NYC #NYU NYUPSC #SDS #NYUSDS #NYUSJP #SJP #BDS #UAW #NYUGSWU #FreePalestine #Disclose #Divest

New York, NY – On January 24, over 50 NYU students gathered at a rally called by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society (NYU SDS) to protest against Trump’s backwards agenda for his second term as president. The rally took place at Garibaldi Plaza at Washington Square Park, a popular rallying spot for NYU student organizations. 

Students chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!”, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay Donald Trump go away” and “Trump hear us loud and clear, immigrants are welcome here!” Hundreds of people walked by the rally, stopping for brief moments to take photos and videos or to catch parts of it. 

Speakers from the NYU SDS, NYU Queer Union, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine (NYU SJP), NYU Black Student Union and the NYU Young Democratic Socialists of America (NYU YDSA) brought attention to the various attacks that Trump had already launched or plans on launching on the American people, including the NYU student body. 

In response to these attacks, speakers called on the people to unite, build community and fight back. 

“We must continue to support efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion. To combat white supremacy, to fight against a world that only recognizes heterosexual attraction, to oppose a world where the gender binary is the only reality, we must be louder and more forceful,” said the speaker from the NYU Queer Union. 

The speaker for NYU YDSA, said “Let me tell you we cannot fall into this world of despair, misery and belief that all we can do is stand by as conditions get worse hoping that will wake people up on their own. The work starts now. To educate, agitate and organize for the better world that each and every one of us deserves.”

After the speakers, protesters marched by the NYU campus. As they marched, campus security officers ran to set up barriers by NYU Gould Plaza. Gould Plaza used to be a public space that anyone was able to enter. However, after the first encampment at NYU, the administration had walls and a checkpoint constructed, restricting access to the plaza to only NYU students. As protesters marched, they chanted “The students united will never be defeated” with hundreds of NYU students looking on and making way for the crowd. 

The march ended at Schwartz Plaza, the site of the NYU second encampment from last year. Schwartz Plaza is next to the John A. Paulson Center, named after a billionaire hedge funder who donated millions to the Trump campaign. Campus security rushed to put up barriers in front of the plaza to prevent protesters from entering it. 

Ebtesham Ahmed, the emcee and a member of NYU SDS, ended the rally by saying, “We will be here to resist. We will be here to fight back. No matter how much they try to repress our movement, they will fail. Because we are daring to struggle and daring to win! And from the bottom of my heart, I believe that we will win.”

#NewYorkCityNY #NYC #NYU #NYUSDS #SDS #NYUQueerUnion #NYUSJP #SJP #BSU #NYUBSU #NYUYDSA #YDSA #Trump #Inauguration