Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Student Movement

By staff

Denver rally in solidarity with the Tampa 5.

Denver, CO – On July 12, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Denver was joined at the Union Station by members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Black Student Alliance of MSU Denver, and other members of the community. They staged a speak-out demanding that the politically-motivated charges against the Tampa 5 be dropped.

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By staff

Austin students protest affirmative action decision

Austin, TX – On July 8, ten students gathered on the steps of the Texas Capitol building to protest recent attacks on affirmative action. They protested the U.S. Supreme Court decision that race cannot be a factor in college admissions.

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By staff

Organize a protest for the Tampa 5's second court appearance!

The Tampa 5 defendants at the founding of the Emergency Committee to Defend the

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Emergency Committee to Defend the Tampa 5.

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By staff

Carlos Montes, a member of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organ

Carlos Montes, a member of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, condemned the Supreme Court for their June 29 ruling that bans affirmative action at colleges and universities.

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By staff

Texas students resist attacks on diversity programs.

Austin, TX – On Tuesday, June 27, close to a dozen students and community members gathered in front of the Texas State Capitol to speak out against Senate Bill 17, which effectively bans diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public universities in Texas. At the speakout, called by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), students talked about the impacts of the ban on diversity programs.

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By Joe Nohava

Tampa 5 defendants addressing the conference.

Tampa, FL – On June 24, over 130 people packed the Maureen Gauzza Library in Tampa early Saturday morning to join in the fight to defend the Tampa 5, activists charged with felonies, some facing up to ten years in prison for exercising their free speech rights.

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By Sol Márquez

James Lotter in the blue hoodie (center) at Centro CSO meeting.

Los Angeles, CA – Students from East LA Performing Arts Magnet (ELAPA) at Esteban E. Torres High School walked out April 27, to demand the removal of Principal John Edward Estoesta. The students were initiated into action when one of their beloved teachers, James Lotter, who teaches AP literature, was fired in front of his students with zero explanation.

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By Mantak Singh

Carlos Montes.

Seattle, WA- On May 25, 60 students and community members gathered at the Ethnic and Cultural Center of UW Seattle to listen to the experiences of longtime organizer Carlos Montes. Carlos Montes is a nationally recognized leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and anti-war movements. He co-founded the Brown Berets, a Chicano youth organization, in the late 1960s and was a key figure in the Chicano Blowouts, a series of high school walkouts protesting racism and inequality. Today, Carlos Montes is an active and well know community leader in East Los Angeles.

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By staff

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

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By staff

Emergency Conference: Defend the Tampa 5! Civil Liberties in the Era of DeSantis

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call for an emergency conference to defend the Tampa 5.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

_Additional felony charges mean we must strengthen resistance _

The Tampa 5 are facing 10 plus years in jail! Drop the charges now!

Tampa, FL – Florida state prosecutor Justin Diaz it trying to put the Tampa 5 in prison. The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) members, arrested at a campus protest against the racist agenda of Governor Ron DeSantis, each face a trumped-up felony charge, alleging “battery on a police officer,” carrying five years of jail time. When the activists rejected a plea deal requiring them to apologize for doing the right thing, the prosecutor added on more felony charges. This means that three of the activists are facing more than ten years behind bars. In addition, the activists face ten misdemeanor charges.

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By Simon Rowe

Rally outside arraignment of Tampa 5 demands the charges be dropped.

Tampa, FL – On May 17, over 40 people rallied outside a courthouse in support of the Tampa 5 during their arraignment. Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society and Tampa Bay Community Action Committee hosted a press conference followed by a protest against the attacks on protesters in Florida.

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By Mantak Singh

Seattle protest against misogynist professor.

Seattle, WA – On May 12, the Progressive Student Union held a counterprotest outside of a “free speech” conference at the University of Washington hosted by Huskies for Liberty, a libertarian student group. At this conference, Pedro Domingos, a professor emeritus of the Computer Science department at UW, spoke discussing how he is being silenced by the “woke” mob.

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By staff

Call in to demand drop the charges against the Tampa 5: 813-272-5400 then press

Fight Back! News is circulating the following call to action from Students for a Democratic Society

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By staff

SDS fights militarization of campus cops.

Denver, CO – After a nearly two year campaign, the Denver chapter of Students for a Democratic Society won a significant milestone in their campaign to demilitarize the campus police. After four months of work plagued with delays and obfuscation by campus administrators, SDS fought to successfully get a resolution passed that takes the power from the Auraria Campus Police from being able to obtain military weapons from the 1033 program – a federal program designed to transfer surplus military equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense to local law enforcement.

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By staff

Cherrene Horazuk.

Minneapolis, MN – Roughly 70 University of Minnesota students, faculty, staff and community members rallied together on May 11 outside McNamara Alumni Center, where the governing Board of Regents met to discuss finance and operations amidst brutal budget cuts and job-cutting measures.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Tampa Bay SDS.

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By Sorcha Lona

Protesters march up Washington Avenue on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday April 28, 150 protesters, including students, staff and faculty, gathered at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities McNamara Plaza to protest administration's proposed cuts to ethnic and gender studies.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Florida State University Students for a Democratic Society.

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By David Jones

Chrisley Carpio.

Tampa, FL – On Tuesday April 25, the University of South Florida finalized the termination of admissions worker Chrisley Carpio. Carpio was one of several protesters brutalized by the USF police department, and one of the five charged by police with felonies, for protesting Governor Ron DeSantis’ attacks on education, diversity and inclusion programs and multicultural organizations at public universities. University administration continues to repress protesters, as seen through the suspension of one student, preventing them from being on campus, and Carpio’s firing.

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