Tallahassee, FL – On September 7, Florida State University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a march in defense of women’s and reproductive rights, following the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. More than 40 students attended the march from the Legacy Fountain to the Integration Statue, accompanied by chants like “We won’t go back! We will fight back!”

FSU SDS joined organizations across the country for a National Day of Action to defend reproductive rights and resist attacks on bodily autonomy. People across the country recognize the necessity to continue the struggle for reproductive rights with boots on the ground action, even though the decision was overturned nearly two months ago.

FSU SDS treasurer Zeke Greenwood said, “This is an important time for students and members of the community to come together to organize and fight for what we need, because conservatives are continuing their attacks on bodily autonomy for women, trans and non-binary people.”

The overturning of Roe v Wade is just one of many recent attacks against reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. Florida, like many other states, was already in the process of restricting abortion access before the Supreme Court decision. On April 14, Governor DeSantis signed HB5 into law, which bans abortions after 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest. On September 16, West Virginia became the latest state to restrict abortion, completely banning the procedure in all but a few cases.

Alex Carson, from the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) stated, “Almost two-thirds of abortions are obtained by African American, Chicano and other oppressed nationality women. Removing the right to abortion would worsen national oppression in the United States.” He continued, “The right to abortion access, like all the other rights working people in the U.S. have, was won through mass struggle. Only mass struggle will save it.”

SDS was joined by several local and student organizations, including the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Florida State Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA), FSU Generation Action, FSU Graduate Assistants United, and the FSU College Democrats.

#TallahasseeFL #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #abortion #TallahasseeSDS #AbortionRights

Student organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society, the Pride Student Union, and Planned Parenthood Gen Action were at the event. Community organizations also had a presence, including the Florida Coalition for Transgender Liberation, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, and others. Both students and community members called out the lack of action on FSU’s part in securing transgender-inclusive housing.

“We have no need for platitudes, we have no need for claims of allyship, what our coalition and initiative needs is action, plans and communication,” said Finley Talley from Gender Odyssey. Talley also pointed out the lack of diversity within FSU’s housing program among its leadership, and the low retention rate of the LGBTQ+ community and oppressed nationalities.

Others agreed that there hadn’t been much focus on FSU’s behalf concerning transgende-inclusive housing. Planned Parenthood Gen Action member Emma Moses said, “When I first heard about FSU’s treatment of trans students I was shocked and upset but honestly I wasn’t really surprised. We all know FSU has a history of ignoring marginalized students on their campus, and the problem is that this has been allowed to happen for far too long. FSU administration refuses to hear us. Students deserve better.”

In addition to creating a petition that outlines their specific demands of FSU housing, Gender Odyssey has created the @transatfloridastate Instagram account where transgender and gender nonconforming students can submit their stories and anonymously share experiences in FSU housing. Gender Odyssey says they will continue to organize for safe and inclusive campus housing until their demands are met.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #transgender #TallahasseeSDS #GenderOdyssey

Tallahassee, FL – On November 19, students from the Tallahassee chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally in front of the Westcott building on the Florida State University campus to demand community and student control of the Florida State University Police Department (FSUPD) and that the charges against the Tally19 be dropped. The students called for an end to political repression and that FSUPD be held accountable to the community and student body they police.

Students spoke about the increasing budget of both the Tallahassee Police Department and FSUPD as well as the lack of accountability to the community and student body at large. Students also demanded justice for the Tally19, a group of protesters who were arrested on September 5 during a rally to demand justice for those who have been impacted by police brutality. These protesters were arrested by a group of approximately 300 police officers clad in riot gear and many are currently facing charges.

Katherine Draken, member of Tallahassee SDS, said in her speech, “The police will never hold each other accountable, we need an independent board that can hold them accountable and demand real justice for the victims of police violence, that’s the purpose of a CPAC.”

Anthony Suarez, vice president of Tallahassee SDS, also spoke about the lack of police accountability, “When police murder someone they occasionally spend a few months on leave and then go right back to their jobs. We saw this with Lawrence Revell who murdered George “Nuke” William in 1996 and is now the TPD police chief, we also saw this with Zackri Jones, who murdered Mychael Johnson, who promptly went right back to work after committing murder.”

Students continued to speak about other cases of police brutality in Tallahassee and the U.S., ending the rally with a call for students and community members to get involved with local organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society or the Tallahassee Community Action Committee to continue the struggle against police repression and violence.

#TallahasseeFL #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #CPAC #TallahasseeSDS #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC

Tallahassee, FL – On July 4, over 70 students protested in front of the Westcott administration building at Florida State University to demand the removal of the statue of Francis Eppes, a large Leon County slave-owner who had funded the Confederacy. The protest was called by Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), who also issued demands for the removal of Eppes from the criminology building and segregationist Doak Campbell from the stadium.

Students, holding signs reading, “No slave-owners on campus” and “Eppes must fall,” marched to the new location of the Eppes statue. An American flag was draped over the statue with the names of victims of police murder, including Mychael Johnson, Wilbon Woodard and Tony McDade in Tallahassee.

Student protests had led FSU President John Thrasher to call an advisory panel which led to the removal of the Francis Eppes statue from the Westcott plaza in 2018, but in the summer of 2019 the statue was returned to a nearby area of campus.

“Taking down the statue of a racist slave owner is the bare minimum that FSU could do for our community but especially out of respect for our Black student body,” said Valentina Beron, incoming SDS president. “As long as the statue of Francis Eppes stands at FSU, it represents the culture of white supremacy that is still deeply ingrained and being upheld by this institution today.”

Students also issued calls for FSU to cut ties with the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD), to place FSUPD under community control and to increase Black enrollment through affirmative action.

“Francis Eppes used money from his slave-catching militia to fund one of the first police departments in the country, TPD. To this day TPD continues to subjugate Black people, most recently with the murders of Mychael Johnson and Tony McDade,” said Regina Joseph of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC).

The students said that they would continue struggling until their demands are met by FSU.

#TallahasseeFL #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #TallahasseeSDS #PoliceBrutalty

Tallahassee, FL – Florida State University students gathered in protest of Charlie Kirk on March 10.

FSU was the first stop for Charlie Kirk’s “Culture War Tour” sponsored by Turning Point USA (TPUSA). “FSUnite Against Kirk” was born in response to this event, a self-described student coalition dedicated to spreading a message of love and acceptance in the wake of Kirk’s purposefully divisive rhetoric.

A group of students of all walks of life attended, including six speakers representing different student organizations; Ellie Cooper, president of JStreet U; Alyssa Ackbar, State Director for Florida March for Our Lives; Sadie Cosgrove, member of College Democrats and Gender Odyssey; Delilah Pierre, graduate and organizer with the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); and Isabela Casanova, vice president of Students for a Democratic Society.

Speeches were meant to convey a “story of self”, with each speaker voicing how rhetoric pushed by Kirk and TPUSA goes against FSU’s claims of diversity and inclusiveness and impacts them personally.

FSU is a predominantly white institution. “FSU’s decision to bring Charlie Kirk to campus sends a clear message that minorities are not valued here,” Ackbar stated. “Kirk’s rhetoric is hate-filled and targeted at minority groups that are already at a disadvantage on campus.”

Students engaged in chants such as “The students united can never be defeated!” and “Say yes to love! Say no to hate!” and waved signs with similar messages.

Organizer Chloe Ilcus also helped draft a petition that was distributed at the event urging FSU’s President John Thrasher and administration to release a statement addressing Kirk’s visit to campus.

Attendees also signed a petition by SDS aimed at bringing a more concrete accountability process for sexual abusers and rapists on FSU campus. SDS will lead a coalition of students, campus groups, area residents and community organizations in a march from campus to the state capitol on Saturday, April 11.

FSUnite Against Kirk was met with some backlash both in person and on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook due to the nature of Kirk’s event, but organizers took such backlash in stride.

“We have to organize like this,” Cooper insisted. “Being here today allows me to see the type of community I know FSU can be.”

#TallahasseeFL #US #PeoplesStruggles #Antifascism #DonaldTrump #TallahasseeSDS #CharlieKirk #TurningPointUSATPUSA

Tallahassee, FL – Over twenty people gathered at the steps of Wescott at Florida State University, February 18, to demonstrate against Trump’s so-called ‘National Emergency.’

As a result of this National Emergency declaration, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called an emergency action to rally against Trump’s growing anti-immigrant policies, and his plan build a wall to further militarize the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and Amnesty International also spoke at the rally.

The rally began with chants such as, “No border, no wall, legalization for all,” and “No hate no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”

After several speeches the crowd began marching to the steps of the Old Capitol. They took the streets, avoiding the police barricades and warnings from officers to get on the sidewalk.

When they arrived at the capitol intersection, they continued to block the streets, chanting “Who’s streets?” and “Shut it down.”

When asked about the importance of rallying that day, Katherine Draken responded, “We need to stand in solidarity with refugees fleeing from the destruction and poverty caused by American imperialism.”

This rally was in response to a national call to action by National Students for a Democratic Society to oppose Trump’s wall. In addition to Tallahassee, other SDS chapters participated, including University of North Florida, Salt Lake City and Tampa. Students for a Democratic Society also signed on to the nationwide mobilization led by the Legalization for All network.

At the end of the rally, Students for a Democratic Society Vice President Isabela Casanova urged all those in attendance to continue the fight against Trump’s anti-immigrant policies.

“It’s important to show people who feel endangered by this situation that we find ourselves in that they are not alone, and they have support from us.”

#TallahasseeFL #International #ImmigrantRights #OppressedNationalities #US #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #DonaldTrump #NationalEmergency #TallahasseeSDS #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommittee