Tampa, FL – On November 8, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, along with community members and students, rallied in defense of free speech on campus, after facing repression by the University of South Florida (USF) and not being allowed to host events on campus.

More than a dozen people gathered to call for code of conduct charges to be dropped on student protesters like Saba Indawala, who was temporarily suspended by USF for being an SDS member, and SDS members Kinsey Dyal, Vicky Tong, and Daniel Mendez, who were hit with conduct charges three weeks after attempting to protest on campus on October 1.

Protesters rallied with the slogans “Defend the right to protest the genocide in Gaza,” “Stop the suspension of Saba Indawala,” “Drop the conduct charges on student protesters” and “Down with policy 6-028,” a new policy introduced by USF’s administration in the summer that puts limits on campus events, requires administration approval of protests, bans bake sales, and launches other attacks on students’ free speech.

USF SDS member Vicky Tong stated, “All three of us were interrogated, and they were trying to force us to say we were not affiliated with SDS, and they said that if we were, we would have to go through a formal hearing. They manipulated all of us into giving answers the USF administration wanted to hear.”

Tong also explained how administration forced Kinsey Dyal to choose between a hearing advisor and an accessibility officer, and after choosing an accessibility officer, instead of aiding them, the officer interrogated and pressured them into giving certain answers. Thankfully, the protesters were told only to write essays as punishment, but not before having been mocked and bullied by the USF administration.

Other organizations which shared statements included Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which stood in solidarity with student protesters and with Tampa Bay SDS, chanting: “USF shame on you, student voices matter too!”

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