Minneapolis, MN – Bright yellow picket signs stood tall by University Avenue at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, as students and campus community gathered to protest outside the Donhowe building at the University of Minnesota to demand immediate action from administration to expand abortion access on campus. The action was organized by the UMN chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and co-hosted by the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee. Students chanted “Hey Gabel, what do you say? Protect abortion rights today!” calling on University President Joan Gabel to act on their demands to defend women’s and reproductive rights on campus and in the broader state of Minnesota.

As chants echoed down the street to choruses of honks in support from passing cars, the emcees introduced the first speakers. Andon Lieu from SDS explained that especially due to Minnesota’s status as a sanctuary state for abortion, “The University of Minnesota has a greater responsibility to uphold and protect reproductive rights, as an institution that prides itself on its so-called dedication to public service and serving communities.” They continued, making clear that “reproductive justice will only be won through collective struggle.”

Emcees read off a list of demands that SDS has raised to defend women’s and reproductive rights on campus, which include: the establishment of a reproductive health advocacy center, which would work to connect students to resources from STI testing to abortion and other services; a reproductive health training module for freshman orientation so that students will know what resources are available and how they can access them; a boycott by the university of business and big-ticket events with states that have extreme abortion restrictions such as heartbeat bills; and the opening of an abortion clinic on every University of Minnesota campus.

Speaking for the AFSCME locals at the University, Skyler Dorr voiced the support of campus workers for these demands. They also denounced the drive of administration to put workers’ and students’ jobs and needs – including healthcare access – on the chopping block whenever the budget is drawn up. “There are hundreds of administrators at the University of Minnesota that are making more than the governor,” Dorr continued, stating that if the university needs to cut funds anywhere, “we need to chop from the top.”

Other speakers included Mira Altobell-Resendez of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Robyn Harbison of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee. At the end of the protest, organizers called on students and student organizations, including cultural organizations, sororities and others at the University of Minnesota to join the fight to expand abortion access and demand that university administration act on the needs of its students, campus workers and community.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #AbortionRights

New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday March 28, dozens of students at Loyola University of New Orleans and the University of New Orleans hung banners at their respective schools displaying the slogans: “Defend diversity, equity and inclusion,” “Protect student multicultural organizations” and “Increase Black enrollment!”

The two actions protested Florida House Bill 999. If enacted into law, this bill would attack diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, staff jobs, faculty positions, and multicultural student groups. The students showed their solidarity with students in Florida and demanded that their schools take strong positions against any such legislation in Louisiana. Both groups also demanded that all charges be dropped against the Tampa 4, the four SDS activists arrested in Florida for protesting to defend DEI earlier in March.

HB 999 is set to ban multicultural studies, such as the African American and Diaspora Studies major being demanded by University of New Orleans students. It also threatens faculty tenure, multicultural and gender-based student organizations, and other types of academic freedom. The UNO group Students United issued a statement demanding that UNO guarantee that it will protect existing programs and organizations, expand its diversity programs, protect tenured faculty and increase Black enrollment.

The twin actions showed the increasing level of organization and activity being built by the student movement of New Orleans. Loyola students marched with their banner chanting “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Ron DeSantis, go away!” and “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? stand up, fight back!” They ended their march by tying their banner up where it could be easily seen. At the same time, UNO students stood with their banner in front of the University Center and chanted “Money for schools and education, not racist legislation.” UNO students entered the University Center and fixed their banner to be in sight of those entering the building, where it remains as of the writing of this article.

Students United UNO and the Young Democratic Socialists of America of Loyola (both affiliates of Students for a Democratic Society) organized the joint protests to answer a national SDS call to action over HB 999.

#NewOrleansLA #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #UniversityOfNewOrleans #LoyolaUniversityOfNewOrleans

Denver, CO – On March 28, members of Denver’s Students For a Democratic Society (SDS) protested the delay of their resolution vote by the Auraria Board of Directors (ABOD). They rallied and spoke out around a banner that stated, “ABOD get back to work!” and “Don’t delay the resolution to defang 1033.” While speakers were spreading the word, members of SDS handed out flyers for a call-in. These included the numbers of the board members as well as a script that demanded that the board get back to work and vote on the resolution immediately as they had once again taken the topic off the meeting agenda.

The preliminary effects of the call-in appear to have been a massive success. Just 30 minutes after the end of the workday, ABOD gave into the demands of SDS, placing the 1033 Resolution back onto the agenda. While ABOD did not guarantee that the matter would be voted on, they did decide to allow SDS approximately 10-15 minutes to speak on the issue at the meeting.

The resolution proposes a change to the 1033 program, which the Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) participates in. The 1033 program allows ACPD access to surplus military supplies from the Department of Defense. This includes military grade weapons such as M16s, which ACPD has purchased previously through the program. The resolution SDS has proposed would allow ACPD to stay in the program, but bars them from purchasing any military grade weapons.

SDS has been attempting to pass this resolution starting at the beginning of January but has been met with significant resistance by ABOD every step of the way. ABOD was originally set to put the matter to a vote in January, however the vote was pushed back to February. Then, once the time to vote came again in February, ABOD attended a private event at a Sports Arena instead of meeting.

SDS member Paul Nelson stated in his speech, “ABOD went on vacation instead of doing their jobs and voting on the 1033 Resolution. If any other worker engaged in such a blatant refusal to do their jobs, they would be fired, but the highest-paid employees of Auraria campus are excused from engaging in the same level of commitment to their occupations.” ABOD was finally poised to vote again March 29, but again claimed that the decision was too tough to be made, pushing the vote back two months.

Considering the move to push back the issue so long, according to SDS member Tom Chaney, the students felt “a massive sense of victory by forcing the 1033 Resolution back on the agenda.” That being said, SDS remains deeply committed to passing the resolution as the organization’s highest priority, and demonstrations are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity if the matter is not voted on March 29.

#DenverCO #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

Austin, TX – On Wednesday, March 22, members of Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) gathered on a busy street, Speedway, on the University of Texas-Austin campus to speak out against the judicial attack on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

SDS members chanted, “When indigenous rights are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “Defend indigenous sovereignty! Defend ICWA!” SDS also passed out fliers and gave speeches about how repealing ICWA would hurt thousands and further erode indigenous sovereignty.

Students also connected this to an ongoing struggle at UT to return stolen ancestral remains currently being held by the university in a warehouse. SDS member Jake Holtzman said in his speech, “These attacks on indigenous rights and sovereignty are not only happening at the federal level. They are also happening locally, right here at UT. The university has been holding stolen ancestral remains and is refusing to give them back to the people of the Miakan Garza Band, who requested that UT return the remains over four years ago. Students and community members are continuing to organize around this to demand that the remains be returned!”

In another speech, SDS member Jules Lattimore said, “This blatant attack on indigenous sovereignty is not an isolated incident, however. In 2022, the unelected Supreme Court ruled in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta that the state of Oklahoma can prosecute non-indigenous criminals who committed crimes against indigenous people on indigenous land.”

#AustinTX #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #IndianChildWelfareAct

Denver, CO – On March 15, students at Auraria Campus in Denver gathered to voice support for a resolution that would prohibit their campus police from obtaining military weapons from the Pentagon’s 1033 Program. The resolution comes after a yearlong fight led by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to pressure administration to agree to the ban.

The Pentagon 1033 Program is a way for police departments to acquire military equipment from the Pentagon at low prices. While Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) claims they only use the program to acquire items such as office supplies, they notably did at one time own multiple M16 rifles acquired through the program. While these rifles were eventually sent back, students feel that the easy access to these weapons is part of a larger attempt to militarize police departments and college campuses across the country.

“ACPD has said in informal exchange with SDS that they will not buy any more military equipment from the 1033 Program, but we cannot take them at their word,” says SDS member Kyle Burroughs, “It should be easy to make this formal if this is truly the attitude of ACPD and the Auraria Board of Directors.”

Another SDS member, Keegan Estrella, noted over the megaphone that ACPD’s claim is in line with the demands of SDS, challenging ACPD to “come endorse our resolution.” He continued, “If you say that you don’t want those weapons and that you aren’t going to use those weapons, then come endorse our resolution!”

Meanwhile, the Auraria Board of Directors has been dodging a vote on the resolution for at least two months, which, according to SDS member Sol Swain, is “a slap in the face to student organizers within SDS.” Swain continued “We’re somewhat baffled as to why such a simple resolution is being met with such hesitancy. Military weapons are not necessary on a college campus, but the Auraria Board of Directors apparently does not see eye to eye with us on this. I would like to see more money going towards my education, not military weapons.”

Most recently, Dr. Janine Davidson, president of Metropolitan State University (one of the three schools on Auraria Campus) proposed edits to the resolution that would rob the proposal of any material conditions blocking ACPD from attaining military weapons. The suggested edits say that ACPD could get weapons so long as there is “notification and consultation with [Auraria Board of Directors] and community.” This edit essentially gives the directors more power over the police than they had in the first place, while stripping the actual campus community already fighting against the acquisition of these weapons of any power whatsoever.

“The community is speaking out against the weapons right now. If Dr. Davidson truly wanted the community’s input on whether or not ACPD should have access to them, she would stop ignoring what the community is actually saying right now,” says Burroughs.

That the proposed edit came from Dr. Davidson, who is a former undersecretary of the Navy and chair of the Department of Defense Policy Board is not surprising. SDS member Paul Nelson asserts, “Dr. Davidson has an extensive military background and plenty of experience with killing machines. I think she’s confusing this workplace with her old one.”

The vote on the resolution is set to happen on March 29, meaning by the end of the month students will see whether the Auraria Board of Directors has listened to its campus community or decided to side with the police militarization camp.

#DenverCO #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Demilitarization

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

On March 6, Students for a Democratic Society at the University of South Florida held a protest near their University President’s office to demand that their university take a stand against House Bill 999, which is the latest in Governor DeSantis’ attacks against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and to demand that the USF Administration take immediate action to Increase Black Enrollment and restore the Diversity department at their College of Arts and Sciences. In response, the University of South Florida Police Department attacked protesters, utilizing chokeholds and other cruel methods, brutalizing and arresting 4 protesters, including members of USF SDS, without even making clear what they were being charged with and where they would be taken. One protestor who was complying with officers was dragged to the ground and kicked in the head.

After the police held our members all day in the county jail, a mass call-in campaign successfully led to their release. But the fight to defend the Tampa 4 is not over. After releasing the Tampa 4, the police announced a series of completely bogus charges, including felony counts. This is nothing less than a blatant attack on the right to protest, and an attempt to criminalize protesters fighting back against DeSantis’ reactionary attacks in the face of University Administration’s compliance with those attacks.

Chrisley Carpio – a member of Students for a Democratic Society, and one of the Tampa 4 who was brutalized and arrested by USFPD – had this to say: “What happened was a nightmare. Students and workers fighting to oppose House Bill 999 and increase Black Enrollment at USF, were put in chokeholds, and groped and beat for daring to say something. Governor DeSantis and President Rhea Law are bear responsibly for this. We won't leave campus; we won't stop protesting. USF and the county need to drop the charges on the Tampa 4; they need to condemn DeSantis' attacks on diversity; and Rhea Law needs to step down as president. We won't back down until DeSantis' racist attacks and USF's cowardly compliance come to an end.”

As these attacks on diversity programs on campuses continue to expand across Florida and the rest of the country, and as DeSantis bans AP African American Studies and any discussion of racism from K-12 schools, we continue to demand the protection and expansion of multicultural studies and DEI programs, the increasing of Black enrollment – as our Tampa chapter has raised – and the teaching of Black history in all schools. We demand that Florida universities refuse to comply with DeSantis’ attacks on DEI.

Students for a Democratic Society condemns this blatant display of brutality by USF PD at this action. Protesting is and will remain – as long as we continue to fight for it – a right.

In the face of this police brutality and repression, we will not back down from the fight to defend our fellow student organizers and to protect diversity programs and cultural studies on our campuses across the country. On March 7th we called an emergency day of action to drop the charges against the Tampa 4, and SDS chapters and students and youth organizations across the country have already responded and taken to the streets, and we will not give in until every last charge against the Tampa 4 is dismissed. When the right to protest is under attack; when our members and student organizers are under attack, we have no choice but to fight back. An injury to one is an injury to all!

Justice for the Tampa 4!

Drop the Charges!

Defending Diversity is Not a Crime!

#TampaFlorida #TampaFL #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #PoliticalRepression #Tampa4

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

By staff

Tallahassee, FL – On February 22, about 35 students, community members and faculty rallied on the front steps of the Student Union at Florida State University. The rally was organized by FSU’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (FSUSDS) in response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent attacks on diversity programs and multicultural studies.

Attendees chanted “Money for schools and education, not for racist legislation!” “Education is liberation!” and “Black education matters!”

According to their official statement, FSUSDS has four primary demands for Florida State: One, the protection and expansion of all multicultural studies; two, the increase of Black student enrollment and professors; three, the protection of transgender students and athletes; and four, opposing DeSantis and his requests and recommendations.

In the past few weeks, DeSantis has made attacking DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs one of his top priorities. FSUSDS has held several rallies against his actions and policies in the past few months, such as his recent investigations into transgender university students and the denial of AP African American History for high school students.

Jason Carles, representing FSUSDS, drew attention to this, telling the crowd, “Less than two weeks ago we had a very similar protest with the same demands,” and “It’s disappointing that DeSantis keeps pushing this issue but as long as we are here, we’re going to fight back against it.”

While groups like FSUSDS have kept the fight going, the movement cannot and will not stop with just one event. Kaela Braxton, president of FSU’s Black Law Student Association, stressed the need for student advocacy and activism: “As students it shouldn't be our job to educate our leaders on why diversity, equity and inclusion is so important, but we have to make it our job if we want to preserve DEI initiatives on campus and keep [campus] a safe and welcoming environment for all students.”

FSUSDS held their rally in conjunction with SDS chapters across the nation trying to bring attention to not just DeSantis, but a nationwide whitewashing of schools. The Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of affirmative action sometime this year. Affirmative action is used to provide more equitable opportunities for students from historically underrepresented groups. Without it, higher education will become that much more inaccessible for Black students, Chicano students, Latino students and more. Legislators like DeSantis aim to make the few protections these programs offer obsolete.

Students expressed messages of hope and dedication to the ongoing struggle. Alex Carson, vice president of FSUSDS and organizer for FRSO, noted, “When FSU refused to get rid of the statue of slave owner Francis Eppes, SDS did not stop organizing and mobilizing students and community members in the fight to have it removed. Students like us fighting is the only reason it got taken down. The battle for education will be no different – in order to defeat the DeSantis agenda, we need a sustained movement built by as many students as possible!”

FSUSDS fought for more than five years to have the statue of slave owner Francis Eppes removed from campus. It was finally taken off of campus in the summer of 2020.

The February 22 event was cosponsored by several groups, including the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), Veg FSU, FSU Student Farmworker Alliance (SFA), the Black Law Student Association (BLSA), Food Not Bombs (FNB), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

For more information and regular updates on FSUSDS’s campaigns and actions, search @FSUSDS on Twitter and Instagram.

#TallahasseeFL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

Minneapolis, MN – 15 University of Minnesota students and staff members gathered in the rain outside of UMN’s Morrill Hall on February 14 for a Valentine’s Day-themed rally hosted by Students for a Democratic Society and AFSCME demanding the expansion of abortion access across all University of Minnesota campuses.

Protesters adorned the exterior of the building that contains the university President Joan Gabel’s office with heart-shaped signs stating “UMN owes abortion access” and “Abortion is healthcare.” Valentines were given to passers-by that had pieces of candy attached to fact sheets detailing how there was once an abortion clinic on the UMN Twin Cities campus which was closed decades ago due to anti-choice legal pressure, and the fact that the university still conducts business with states that have banned abortion since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022.

SDS member Gianna Diaz expressed great disappointment toward the university for its lack of response to student and community demands, reminding them that “as one of the largest healthcare providers in the state, they are obligated to provide comprehensive healthcare to all those they serve, including abortion.”

After the spirited rally, attendees attempted to enter Morrill Hall to drop off handwritten valentines containing SDS’s demands at President Gabel’s office. They found that the building, which is typically open to university students and employees during the daytime, was not only locked but also being guarded from the inside by armed University of Minnesota Police Department officers, who did not allow the students passage into the building.

Follow @umnsds on social media for future actions and updates on the campaign for expanded women’s and reproductive rights at the University of Minnesota.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #reproductiveRights #AbortionRights

Students for a Democratic Society stands in unconditional solidarity with the railroad workers of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED-IBT), SMART-TD, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen as they fight determinedly for a fair contract and livable conditions on and off the job. We stand with them in their rejection of the appalling deal crafted by the Biden Administration, and we stand with them in defending their right to strike against the anti-labor, union busting attacks of President Biden and the US Congress, who are attempting to force workers to accept this unfair contract in violation of their rights.

The conditions railroad workers have been forced to bear for years are nothing short of inhumane. Engineers and conductors don’t have shift schedules, but are instead on call 24/7, with no regards to their personal or family time, and are held to a strict attendance policy, where they are docked points for missing work for any reason. Mechanics, electricians and others are also forced into grueling conditions. Workers are provided no paid sick leave and getting paid leave in general is an incredibly burdensome effort. All this and more during a time where the biggest railroad corporations in the country have raked in more than $10 billion in revenue.

In the face of these conditions and the railroads' refusal to negotiate on any issue, several railroad unions, encompassing over 100,000 railroad workers, filed their intent to strike in August and September of this year. Soon after, the Biden administration scrambled to craft contract terms. While most of the rail unions ratified it by a small margin, BMWED, SMART-TD, IBB and BRS, representing a majority of railroaders, voted against it, and prepared to strike to fight back for their rights on the job, setting a tentative strike date of December 9th, while the other rail unions made clear that they would respect the picket line.

In violation of the right to strike and the rights of workers and their unions, President Biden set out to break the strike before it could happen and force the contract on workers. The house and senate were quick to follow, voting to force the deal onto the unions. While the House voted to add 7 paid sick days to it—barely half of what rail workers were demanding—the Senate voted against it, leaving the deal the same as it was when workers voted it down.

We demand that Biden and Congress respect the right to strike, and keep their hands off railroad workers and their unions. Students know all too well what it's like to have administrators and bosses who refuse to listen to us and meet our needs. While we fight for our rights and needs on our campuses, rail workers are fighting for their rights and needs on and off the job. Students have picked our side, we stand with the rail workers, and we’ll be with them until this battle’s won.

Respect the right to strike!

Hands off rail workers and their unions!

Paid sick days for rail workers now!

#UnitedStates #Labor #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #RailWorkers

Milwaukee, WI – On November 21, a dozen members from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UW-Milwaukee and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) gathered in Spaights Plaza at UWM to condemn transphobic violence and to advocate for a hiring freeze on UWM’s police department. A moment of silence was also observed to honor the victims of the Club Q shooting in Colorado that occurred two days before the event.

Speeches condemned the increase in anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry that has occurred in recent years, the erasure and criminalization of trans people, and advocated for UWM Police Department funding to be redirected into mental health services, the LGBTQ+ resource center, and other services that are equipped to serve trans folks.

“Men worked and got just enough wage to support the family, women kept the home and raised the next generation of workers. Anything outside of that needed to be crushed,” said Nadezhda Young Binter of FRSO, referring to the capitalist construction of the “nuclear family” and the rigid and oppressive gender binary that serves as the basis of queer and trans oppression.

Young Binter and Trenton Houck of SDS also talked about how police violence has always disproportionately impacted trans people, especially oppressed nationality trans people – from enforcing laws prohibiting cross-dressing and homosexuality in the 1950s to present day where parents who allow their transgender children to live as their authentic selves are being investigated for child abuse in Texas, denying prisoners access to gender affirming care, and more.

UWM PD mainly handles drug and alcohol violations but also conducts mental health check-ins and intervenes in sexual violence cases – all things they should not be doing. Due to the stigma and discrimination that our violently transphobic capitalist society perpetuates, trans people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and suicidal thoughts than others. Trans people are less likely to trust police with situations like these because they face a higher risk of being brutalized than cis people, and police presence in these situations only escalates them and results in more trauma for those involved. 25% of people killed by police in 2015 were having a mental health crisis, and even UWM PD has a history of brutalizing mentally ill people. In 2019, a homeless person having a mental health crisis was shot by UWM PD.

Transgender people also face sexual violence at much higher rates than others and oppressed nationalities are even more impacted. Most sexual assault cases go unreported due to survivor distrust in the police. UWM’s police department currently has 41 officers while the LGBTQ+ resource center currently only has two full-time staff members. Other student support services are also severely understaffed.

“How are these understaffed departments supposed to adequately serve a student population of over 20,000 people?” Houck asked in their speech, to which the crowd responded, “They can’t!”

In order to limit police violence against trans people and to create a safe and inclusive campus where trans people are given adequate resources and support, police funding must be redistributed to student support services like the LGBTQ+ center and mental health services.

#MilwaukeeWI #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

Denver, CO – On November 10, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) continued their campaign against the Auraria Campus Police Department’s (ACPD) ongoing participation in the Department of Defense’s 1033 program, otherwise referred to as the LESO Program. The program provides police departments with military grade weapons and supplies.

 Members of SDS Denver and their fellow students had a speakout at the center of campus, where they made their voices heard on the issue of campus militarization and the 1033 program.

A group of over a dozen students marched to Colleen Walker's office, who is the chief executive officer of the Auraria Higher Education Center and demanded that the Auraria Board of Directors (ABOD) listen to the students.

According to reporting by Zoe Schacht at Colorado Newsline, Colleen Walker has focused her energies on putting $10,000 of state funding and other non-state funding sources for the Auraria Higher Education Center to pay for her membership charges in Colorado Concerns, a conservative lobbying group. This group describes itself as “an exclusive alliance of top executives,” and they lobby the Colorado state legislature for property-tax cuts and the continuation of Denver camping bans. According to Schacht’s article, “Colorado Concern members who represent higher education institutions are Todd Saliman, president of the University of Colorado system; Tony Frank, chancellor of Colorado State University; Colleen Walker, CEO of the Auraria Higher Education Center; and Janine Davidson, president of Metropolitan State University.”

Two of the aforementioned executives, Janine Davidson and Colleen Walker, serve on ABOD and have ignored the community’s call for ACPD's withdrawal from the 1033 program, while focusing on conservative lobbying efforts in the state capitol.

Janine Davidson has a long career of service to the U.S. State Department. In the years 2009 to 2012 Davidson served as deputy assistant secretary of defense and oversaw the formulation of military war plans and global force posture policy. This culminated in her nomination to undersecretary of the United States Navy under Barack Obama in September of 2015. According to the Metropolitan State University of Denver publication RED, “Davidson is also the interim chair of the Department of Defense Policy Board, which she joined in December 2021.” Davidson is also a current member of the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board with the likes of Thomas E. Donilon, chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute.

This month’s march comes just two months after the Denver Police Department shot seven people just a couple blocks away from campus. Paul Nelson, a student at the Metropolitan State University, commented, “We live in a city where just last July the police committed a mass shooting on 20th and Larimer, firing recklessly into a crowd of people outside a bar.” The shooters have still not had any sort of consequence from the department. The students see this event as evidence that the police are not here to protect them.

Geral Mueller, a student at the University of Colorado Denver, spoke out against events the Auraria Campus Police Department has put on in the past that make students feel unsafe, “ACPD’s invitation of DPD and FBI onto campus shows that they do not care about the safety or concerns of oppressed students on campus.”

The students left their banners and signs at Colleen Walker’s office for her to come back to, as SDS’s campaign to demilitarize ACPD escalates.

#DenverCO #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

Tallahassee, FL – On November 9, Florida State University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a protest against the recent decision by the Florida Board of Medicine to ban, in a 6-3 vote, gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. This decision prohibits all types of gender-affirming care for those under 18, including puberty blockers, hormones, cross-hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery. Around 30 people attended the protest in front of the new student union.

This is not the first time that lawmakers have attacked gender-affirming care in recent months. In August of this year, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration ruled that Medicaid would no longer cover gender-affirming care.

The protest was part of a National Week of Action against the so-called “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act,” a bill recently introduced to Congress in the same spirit as Florida’s HB1557, the infamous “Don’t Say Gay Bill.” This bill, introduced by Republicans, would prohibit schools from providing sex education and access to library books with LGBTQ+ topics.

These recent homophobic, transphobic and anti-LGBTQ+ attacks all come under the guise of “protecting children,” despite the fact that restricting access to gender-affirming care does the exact opposite of protecting trans youth.

“The Board of Medicine is even going against advice from pediatricians from all over the country. I was on puberty blockers when I was a kid and I’m just fine,” said Ale Mejia, a member of FSUSDS.

Florida, a hotbed of reaction, is often the proving grounds for these types of legislation. Before the overturning of Roe v. Wade nationwide, the Florida legislature passed a massively unpopular 15-week abortion ban. The uptick in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation goes hand in hand with the assault on women’s and reproductive rights.

Despite the legislative onslaught on LGBTQ+ rights, students recognize the limits of voting as a path towards true liberation. “How can you claim to support trans liberation when you uphold the system that trans people are trying to be liberated from?” questioned FSUSDS member Joel Nuñez.

FSUSDS was joined by several other student and community organizations, including FSU Generation Action, VegFSU, Student Farmworker Alliance (SFA), Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), FAMU Students for a Democratic Society (FAMUSDS), and the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

#TallahasseeFL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #TransLivesMatter

Chicago IL – On November 7, more than 30 activists from Students for a Democratic Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization gathered for a march at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Students demanded the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus and provide free birth control for all students. The protest is part of an ongoing campaign by Students for a Democratic Society to demand the university do more to defend women’s and reproductive rights in the face of the mounting Republican attacks.

Rallying outside of the student center, SDSers gathered a crowd as they spoke, condemning the reactionary right-wing attacks in the courts and legislatures. SDSers emphasized the need to build a fighting movement to defend women’s and reproductive rights.

SDSer Erin Boyle spoke on the particular importance of demanding a clinic on campus: “As we see our rights eroded before our eyes, we cannot remain passive even in a state that is ‘safe.’ We have to build up the infrastructure that is being torn up around the rest of the country, right here on our campus.”

After the speeches students marched across campus to offices of the UIC administration, holding signs that read “Abortion saves lives” and “Defend women’s and reproductive rights.” SDSers led the crowd through the building, chanting “Abortion is healthcare, healthcare is a right.”

After leaving the offices SDSers gave a final speech calling out the hypocrisy of the UIC chancellor making $600,000 a year and the UIC police department getting nearly $10 million, while students lack access to basic medical care. The protest ended with a call to go to the board of trustees meeting on November 17 and demand the university put student and worker needs before administration greed.

#ChicagoIL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #reproductiveRights #AbortionRights

Tallahassee, FL – On October 20, students at Florida State University, led by FSU Students for a Democratic Society (FSU SDS) gathered to counter-protest an on campus appearance by conservative mouthpiece Charlie Kirk. Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a national organization that peddles racist, homophobic, alt-right talking points on college campuses.

FSU College Democrats President Alexis Dorman states, “Charlie Kirk has resorted to indoctrinating young people with made-up information that benefits himself,” and “Charlie Kirk is a Trump pawn without a single original idea.”

This is not the first time Kirk has made an appearance at FSU. In in 2020, right before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, TPUSA hosted Kirk’s Tallahassee stop of his “Culture War” tour. In response, student groups like FSUSDS, FSU College Democrats, FSU Generation Action, and more formed a coalition called FSUnite Against Kirk. In 2020, the FSU student government paid TPUSA more than $3400 in tuition dollars to fund Kirk’s appearance.

Two days before Kirk’s October 20 appearance, FSUSDS was made aware of a “situation report” created to point police repression in their direction. SDS responded with a statement announcing that “by hosting far right racists and homophobes, the university itself has created an unsafe situation. If FSU is scared of possible hate crimes and physical conflict committed by the followers of fascists, then they should stop inviting fascists on our campus!”

About 25 students joined FSUSDS outside of TPUSA’s event on October 20 to protest Kirk’s second appearance at Florida State. Some chants included “FSU let’s make it clear, Charlie Kirk’s not welcome here!”, “This is what democracy looks like!” and “Bigotry has got to go!” The right-wingers tried to out-chant protesters for about an hour to no avail.

“TPUSA has no support in the community,” stated FSUSDS’s Vice President Alex Carson. “They are funded by billionaires and come from out of town to rile up racist and homophobic sentiments. FSU willingly hosts them and shows they will prioritize platforming racist influencers. SDS is the complete opposite, we are run entirely by our members and have no big-money backing. All our support comes from the community.”

Other student organizations joining the protest included the Graduate Assistants United, FSU College Democrats, Students for Justice in Palestine, Student Farmworker Alliance, Planned Parenthood Generation Action, and VegFSU.

Despite repeated and persistent heckling by Kirk’s quite scant supporters in attendance, students remained firm in their protest.

#TallahasseeFL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #FloridaStateUniversityFSU

Kent, OH – On October 15 and 16, members of the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) from across the United States gathered for their annual national convention at Kent State, Ohio.

Roughly 90 students from SDS chapters and affiliates listened to speakers and gave workshops, summing up their victories and losses over the past year. The convention was united under the slogan of, “Not Another Step Back!” in reference to the year-long fight to keep rights such as the right to an abortion, but also to win even more. They featured national SDS’ commitments to, “Fight for Black lives, defend Roe v. Wade, and stop homophobic and transphobic attacks.”

The location was particularly poignant to New SDS, as local students and faculty membered the four students who were killed on campus by the National Guard in 1970 for protesting the Vietnam War. Just a week later, two Black students were killed by police at the historically Black university, Jackson State University, for protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. After the first day’s workshops and panels, students toured Kent State’s campus and saw the sites that marked where the students died.

Since New SDS’s last convention in 2021, SDS chapters have led various campaigns and secured numerous victories. They fought for abortion access, women’s rights and reproductive rights; they built campaigns to defund and demilitarize campus police. They joined the picket lines of striking teachers and organized labor and protested to demand no war with Russia and to get the U.S. and NATO out of Ukraine. They succeeded in ending a university partnership with the Central Intelligence Agency at one campus, the University of Illinois Chicago. The convention was a time for SDS chapters and members to share invaluable lessons on organizing to their fellow chapters in the plenaries and workshops.

The panels sparked a fighting spirit. One highlight was the discussion of what it means to organize in solidarity with fighting workers and labor organizers, and how students can contribute. The keynote speaker of this panel was none other than Sara Nelson, the prominent labor leader and president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. Sara Nelson shared her story of when she led flight attendants to the picket line in 2018, and effectively ended Donald Trump's government shutdown, forcing the government to concede to unionized flight attendants. She credited students for showing up for striking workers and invited students to join labor and flight attendant unions, and to get involved with the fight for unions and workers when they graduate.

When asked what the best tactic was, Nelson said, “The strike is our tactic. Solidarity is our power.” Students gave her a standing ovation and joined in as Nelson began to sing the pro-union song, Solidarity Forever.

On the same panel, speaking of student solidarity with unions and striking workers, Gillian Rath from the University of Minnesota SDS stated, “Big universities such as the University of Minnesota are run like corporations. They claim to support workers’ rights and workplace equality, but they don’t. So in academia, we are not taught these values. They tell us to aspire to be a boss, to make lots of money, to climb the corporate ladder. But the reality is that most of us are going to be members of the working class. And that is a great thing. It’s the working class that wants to fight back and has the most to win.” The next day, a resolution for Student Labor Solidarity passed unanimously to thunderous cheers and applause.

An important conference panel delt with the fight for reproductive rights, women’s rights, and to fight back against homophobic and transphobic legislation. Panelists spoke in detail about either organizing record-breaking pro-abortion protests on the eve of the release of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling or fighting the anti-abortion legislation passed in their own states.

Trenece Robertson traveled from Tallahassee to represent Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Generation Action, a youth organization that works closely with Planned Parenthood, who said that they are now on a lifelong trajectory to fight for reproductive justice.

“If you’re planning on getting involved with reproductive rights organizing,” Robertson said, “you need to be involved with groups like Planned Parenthood and Students for a Democratic Society, and all groups fighting for the right to a safe and legal abortion, wherever you are. Just ask yourself, hey, what can I do? Whatever you do as an activist is just as important if not more important than any politician.”

Despite the passage of anti-abortion bills in both Texas and Florida, students told tales of protests, from 1000 to 10,000 people, who all marched for reproductive rights. The time is right, they said, for a fight to defend our rights won through protests and struggle, of which Roe v. Wade is just the beginning. This is especially true entering the midterm elections with more reactionary candidates running for office on similar platforms. The next day, they passed a resolution to join the Coalition to March on the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, 2024, and to oppose their reactionary agenda to attack women’s and reproductive rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, and all attacks on the people.

The convention also hosted speakers for two more panels, one to talk about continuing the long-term fight against police crimes and another about continuing the long-term fight against U.S. wars and intervention. Raymond Greene, Jr., from the Freedom Black Led Organizing Collaborative, spoke about his experiences organizing for Justice for Jayland Walker, a young Black man who was killed by Akron police.

“The police don’t protect people, they protect property,” Greene said. “We are promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. By pursuit of happiness, we actually mean universal healthcare, food, childcare, and housing. But before you can have happiness, you have to be alive.”

Speaking for National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Omar Flores of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, added the necessity of organizing to win justice. “We don’t want racism to die out, we want to stomp it out. Like Raymond said, we wouldn’t want the police to protect a Walmart, we need them to protect us from racists. But it’s up to us to win community control of the police to make that happen.”

Students then ended the day with a reaffirmation of SDS’ positions against U.S. wars and intervention, new and old. Kent State SDS member Lucas Fratianne connected the history of Kent State University, where four antiwar student protesters were killed by the National Guard, with the present-day struggle of students to continue to oppose U.S. wars. He reiterated SDS’ year-long commitment to stand in the way of a new U.S. war on Russia. “The U.S. has taken steps to take NATO and its wars to Russia’s doorstep. And we can’t let that happen.”

University of Illinois Chicago SDS member Liz Rathburn was more than happy to bring the floor news of a hard-won victory that is yet another strike against the U.S. government’s designs to create chaos in the Middle East and in Asia: the SDS chapter forced the university to cancel a new contract that allows the CIA access to recruit Arabic- and Chinese-speaking students directly from campus.

“If you can’t find collaborators in places like Syria, then why not make them on campus?” Rathburn said. “But the problem for them was, we were on our campus.”

All in all, both days of the convention saw students jump to their feet to celebrate their wins or ask several earnest questions about furthering the struggle on their campuses. They passed several resolutions, including resolutions to free political prisoners, such as the kidnapped Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, and the renowned Colombian peace negotiator, Simon Trinidad. Folks commended Kent State SDS for their excellent hosting, which brought tears to the organizers’ eyes.

“It was incredibly uplifting,” Marlo Crosby from the University of North Florida SDS said, “to be surrounded by like-minded individuals who are trying, just like I am, to engender progressive change within our society.”

#KentOH #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

On the weekend of October 15 – 16, hundreds of student activists will convene at Kent State University in Ohio for the annual Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) National Convention. The National Convention is held every fall semester and is an important event for building SDS and the broader student movement. This year’s convention will be joined virtually by Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA). Nelson is also a key figure in the resurgence of militant, class-struggle based trade unionism.

SDS, re-founded in 2006, is the largest and most active progressive student organization in the U.S. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June, SDS has been extremely active in the fight to defend reproductive rights. Especially in states like Florida and Texas, where right-wing state governments have and are moving to outlaw abortion, SDS has rallied thousands of students to demonstrate, march and protest.

It is in the midst of this battle to defend women’s and reproductive rights across the country, as well as a resurging labor movement largely led by women, that SDS will convene its National Convention. The addition of Sara Nelson to the convention’s labor plenary “Labor Strikes Back: Student Solidarity with Organized Labor” represents an important opportunity for student activists to hear from one of the leading figures of a resurging rank-and-file oriented labor movement. In 2019, Sara Nelson led the fight to end Trump's 2019 government shutdown by grounding flights.

SDS has a long tradition of standing with and fighting in solidarity with organized labor, and this year’s convention is sure to continue that tradition. Students will take what they learn from Sara Nelson and other speakers back to their campuses, communities and workplaces to continue to fight for the radical change that needs to happen.

#KentOH #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

Chicago, IL – On September 7, 30 students marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to demand the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus that is free for students and the community.

Despite its roughly $3.6 billion budget, the university hasn’t taken any steps to provide reproductive healthcare for its students. Other demands included access to birth control and an end to the university’s contracts with companies based in heartbeat bill states.

The action, which drew members from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, denounced, the Dobbs decision and other recent attacks on women’s and reproductive rights.

A member of YDSA addressed the crowd, “They have now had almost a century to codify Roe into law and we are now paying for their negligence,” and that “our bodies and our right to autonomy are not leverage for political elites’ campaigns.”

After speakers wrapped up, a march began from the Student Center to University Hall, gaining marchers as it crossed the campus. Protesters carried signs that read, “Abortion is a human right” and “Fuck the government and the legislators, women are not incubators!” while marching toward the administration’s office building.

At the offices a short speech listed the students demands. Liz Rathburn of UIC SDS made the point that student’s tuition wasn’t just going to the UIC Police Department but that “it isn’t going to the things people need to live, reproductive healthcare, birth control, basic human rights.”

The rally ended with a final round of “I believe that we will win.” SDS at UIC plans to keep the pressure on the administration for as long as it takes to win its demands.

#ChicagoIL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #UniversityOfIllinoisAtChicagoUIC #abortion #reproductiveRights #AbortionRights

Denver, CO – On August 31, two dozen students and community members marched to the Auraria Campus Police Department to demand the end of their participation in the Pentagon 1033 Program, which provides military grade weapons to domestic law enforcement agencies.  Other demands included the defunding and demilitarization of ACPD by surrendering their weapons. The march was led by Denver Students for a Democratic Society. They were joined by the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee, Movimiento Poder, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Around 4 p.m., the crowd gathered for communal sign making before the march. Protesters carried signs reading, “Black lives matter,” “Buy books, not bombs” and “Demilitarize our campus.” The message across the board was loud and clear: a call for a safe campus, free from armed police with the power and tools to terrorize.

The action began with a speech from a member of Denver SDS before the march moved to the Auraria campus police station. In one moment, Brandon Gehrke, president of Denver SDS said, “ACPD lied to us when one of their officers told us they did not receive weapons from the 1033 Program. They said they wouldn’t admit to what weapons they have in their arsenal for the purpose of public safety. How can students trust the police when they tell lies?”

On April 8, members of SDS attended a meeting of the ACPD Community Advisory Board to get answers to a simple question: Will ACPD end their participation in the Pentagon 1033 Program and surrender their weapons? They were met with bureaucratic obstruction and lies from the police.

As the students waited to take part in the public comment portion of the meeting, that part of the meeting was cut short before everyone could speak and ask questions of ACPD. So as the meeting drew to a close, members of SDS confronted the officers present to ask their simple question. One officer denied any claims that ACPD received any weapons, claiming that as far as he knew the only items they received from that program were such mundane things as golf carts. SDS was skeptical and made a Colorado Open Records Act request to get the answers they were looking for.

Sure enough, the request came back on April 28 with proof, including photographs, that ACPD had received four M16s and ten scopes, one of which was recorded lost, from the 1033 Program. Once again, the cops would rather prioritize control of the community over telling them the truth. SDS will continue organizing around their demands that ACPD remove themselves from the 1033 Program.

#DenverCO #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS

On July 2nd, less than 100 Patriot Front members from across the country convened in Boston for a march through the downtown. Patriot Front is a white nationalist hate group that engages in street protests, offensive attack training, and utilizes American fascist imagery for propaganda and recruitment purposes. Outfitted with steel police shields and flags depicting the fasces, a symbol used by Mussolini’s National Fascist Party, the cowardly group marched with their faces covered in an attempted show of force. Additionally, members assaulted a local man, requiring him to be transported to the hospital. No arrests were made.

This kind of “show of force” is not new for the group, especially in recent months. On December 4th, nearly 100 members traveled to DC to march on the National Mall while carrying shields and chanting “Reclaim America.” On June 11th, 31 members of Patriot Front from across the country were arrested outside of a local Pride event in Idaho. They were arrested with riot gear, a smoke grenade, shields and a written plan for their attempted riot.

There is a consistent trend in these actions that must be discussed: the mass traveling of people from across the country to show an inflated number of members. We know from leaked messages and police reports that the members attending these acts of intimidation have coordinated travel across state lines. Additionally, leaked chats have shown that members are required to commit vandalism and attend these events to be a part of the group. This shows that any identified Patriot Front member must be treated as an active threat to the community they are invading.

Member Calvin Stow-Ortiz, alias Arthur FL, has proven to be a highly motivated fascist; he travels hundreds of miles for events, engages in marching and hand-to-hand training activities, and is being used to further recruit at Florida State University and in the greater Tallahassee area. Stow-Ortiz, stepson of a Tampa Police Department officer Antonio Ortiz-Saldana, has traveled to DC, Georgia, and throughout Florida to engage in vandalism and fascist organizing. He was identified en route to Boston and there are reports of his being in Massachusetts over the weekend. This evidence, as well as historical precedence, leaves us with little doubt that Stow-Ortiz was present at this march.

FSU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) will continue their calls for the removal of Stow-Ortiz from Florida State University, which would greatly hamper his fascist recruitment and propagandizing. FSU administration has been completely ineffective at protecting students from an active fascist presence on their campus. They will continue to turn a blind eye until it is too late. FSU SDS calls on all people (classmates, teachers, etc.) who know Calvin Stow-Ortiz to isolate this fascist. The university and the police will not do anything without outside pressure, which is why everyday people must act. We keep us safe!

#Florida #FL #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Antiracism #Antifascism