Gainesville, FL — On July 16, sixty University of Florida students and Gainesville activists marched from the Alachua County Courthouse to Gainesville City Hall to protest the recent US-backed Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Rami Okasha of UF Students for Justice in Palestine started the march saying, “Despite what Zionists say, Palestinians do exist and have been doing their part in resisting a slow genocide of their people. It is time we do ours.”

The protesters took to the streets during rush hour, blocking traffic, loudly chanting “Free, Free Palestine” and “”Netanyahu you can't hide, we charge you with genocide”. They gathered at the steps of City Hall to hear a round of speeches.

Jonathan Waring, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said in his speech, “As long as Palestinians are being oppressed by a US puppet state, we cannot sit idly by and allow them to suffer at the hands of the US and Israel.”

The demonstration concluded with a reading of the names of the 197 victims of Israeli air strikes in Gaza. The crowd held a moment of silence for the Palestinian dead. The protesters tried to symbolically tape the name of the victims to City Hall but police officers stopped them. These actions were greeted by jeers and “Shame on you, City Hall!” The protesters then delivered the list of names to the City and demanded that Gainesville stand with the people of Palestine.

At the end of the rally, Michela Martinazzi of UF Students for a Democratic Society said “It’s important to show solidarity with Palestine in their daily fight against US Imperialism and today’s action proved that the people of Gainesville are standing tall with them.”

#GainesvilleFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #Israel #UniversityOfFlorida #Florida #UFSDS #SJP #StudentsForJusticeInPalestine #MiddleEast

Gainesville, FL – On Dec. 5, 30 members and allies of the Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Florida (SDS at UF) gathered in front of Emerson Alumni Hall to rally for tuition equity for undocumented students. In other words, to have in-state tuition for all students who graduate from Florida high schools, regardless of immigration documents.

This was the fall semester meeting of the University of Florida Board of Trustees. With the board in charge of tuition policy changes, gaining board support for tuition equity was paramount.This past semester, SDS at UF, CHISPAS and Gators for Tuition Equity gathered over 6000 petition signatures, 200 letters from students and letters of solidarity from 11 campus cultural organizations. Also, the UF student senate passed a resolution, co-authored by Conor Munro of SDS, in support of tuition equity.

SDS at UF won the chance to speak to the board due to the mass campaign and overwhelming positive support from the student body. The board allowed three speakers, each with five minutes, to present arguments for tuition equity to be passed at UF.

The first speaker was Candy Herrera, a member of Graduates Assistants United and a former undocumented student. Herrera shared her experience as an undocumented student aiming for higher education. She brought up how the board speaking positively on this issue would, “be a powerful gesture to people of color...and send a message that immigrants are valued and respected” at UF.

The second speaker was Lianna Guerra, from Gators for Tuition Equity, who spoke on the advantages of implementing tuition equity at the university.

Conor Munro finished the round of presentations by eloquently summarizing the student support for this campaign throughout the semester: “University of Florida has a chance to take part in history; it can either be on the side that lags behind, or it can be a beacon of progress and become the flagship university it was meant to be.”

Once the speakers finished, different board members spoke in support of tuition equity. University of Florida President, Bernie Machen, even stated that he “was proud” of the students who worked to bring this campaign to the forefront.

The Board of Trustees unanimously voted to release a statement of support, positively contributing to the campaign.

#GainesvilleFL #SDS #PeoplesStruggles #UniversityOfFlorida #UFSDS #TuitionEquity #BoardOfTrustees #UniversityOfFloridaStudentsForADemocraticSociety

Gainesville, FL – On Oct. 17, student activists at the University of Florida (UF) officially launched their tuition equity campaign by having a demonstration at Tigert Hall, the University of Florida’s administration building. Around 40 students gathered in front of Tigert Hall to demand in-state tuition for undocumented students who have graduated from Florida high schools. The delegation made speeches calling for the university to implement DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals process) at UF and live up to its claim of being a flagship university and open the door to undocumented students.

Protesters held signs like, “No Gator is illegal,” and “Tuition equity for all.” UF student Conor Munro, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), said, “We can’t wait for the same Florida legislature who has for years tabled tuition equity bills and continually cuts funding to higher education. We must be the example to the legislature by demanding and implementing tuition equity at the UF which our board of trustees can do as seen with FIU this past summer. ”

At the event chants rang out of “¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!” and “What do we want? Tuition Equity! When do we want it? Now!” Student after student, including undocumented students, gave testimony on why implementing tuition equity at the university was the just thing to do.

Filipino student Chrisley Carpio, an organizer with SDS, said, “Undocumented students are told in high school that they can work hard and earn their way up, but that hope is shut down as soon as they graduate. The university can’t posit itself as accepting the brightest minds when a community of people are being excluded from its doors because of exorbitant out of state fees.”

Students for a Democratic Society organized the campaign in response to the growing demand from the undocumented community on campus and the recent implementation of DACA by Florida International University. The event had support from an host of organizations like CHISPAS (an immigrants rights group), Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, Hispanic Students Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Graduate Assistants United.

After the round of speeches concluded, the administration sent their spokesperson Jeanna Mastrodicasa, who agreed to student’s demands of a meeting concerning tuition equity for undocumented students. University of Florida SDS plans on hosting events in the future with the goal of getting their board of trustees to put tuition equity on the agenda and implement it at the university.

#GainesvilleFL #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #UniversityOfFlorida #UFSDS #TuitionEquity #NEWSDS

Gainesville, FL – About 40 protesters gathered on the corner of University and SW 13th Street outside of the University of Florida, Aug. 28, to demand no U.S. military intervention in Syria.

The call to action came amidst steadily growing rhetoric from the U.S. government for possible military attack on Syria. Despite ongoing United Nations investigations into Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons with no evidence found thus far, the U.S. is planning a unilateral military intervention into the country.

University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the protest and many other groups were well represented. Groups that participated included University of Florida College Libertarians, Gainesville Vets for Peace, Occupy Gainesville, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Michela Martinazzi, an organizer with University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society, said about the protest, “Military intervention in Syria is completely deplorable and we wanted to demonstrate that the people of Gainesville are united against the government’s prolonged aggression in the Middle East.”

Eric Brown of Students for Justice in Palestine gave a speech and said, “Syria should have the right to self-determination without any intervention from Western powers. We saw the same thing happen in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan; why would this time be any different?”

The action was part of a nationwide effort to stand against U.S. aggression in Syria and the Middle East. Chants included, “No justice, no peace, no more war in the Middle East!” University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society will keep fighting until those words are a reality.

#GainesvilleFL #StudentMovement #SDS #Syria #antiwar #UniversityOfFlorida #AntiIntervention #UFSDS #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #MiddleEast