New Orleans, LA – Starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23, pro-Palestine students at Tulane University quietly entered the library and took up space at nearly every table on the first floor. Almost all the students wore keffiyehs and taped signs to their laptops. Some slogans read, “Tulane divest from genocide”, “While we’re learning, Lebanon is burning”, and “Our tuition funds genocide.” Food, coffee, keffiyehs, signs, and books on Palestine were provided to any student who wanted to join.
Tampa, FL – On October 26, at 5 p.m., 25 students and community members held a rally near campus to defend free speech on campus. The rally was held in response to the University of South Florida (USF)'s escalated political repression of the student movement, where administration has expelled Victoria Hinckley, suspended Saba Indawala, and deported Joseph Charry, all organizers with Students for a Democratic Society, for their solidarity with Palestine.
Salt Lake City, UT – On Thursday, October 24, over 40 students and community members gathered in protest on the University of Utah campus to defend diversity in higher education. The protesters demanded that the school reopen the resource centers for Black, women and LGBTQ students closed by HB 261, the Utah Republicans’ bill attacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The teach-in for diversity countered a racist event held by Young Americans for Freedom, a small and unpopular student group supported by Republicans. Despite the chilly temperatures, that group’s turnout was dwarfed by students chanting and listening as leaders from affected student groups and movements explained how HB 261 and racist attacks on education impact their organizations and constituencies.
Philadelphia PA – On October 16, over the objections of students, Temple University Beasley School of Law adopted anti-protest policies mandated by the American Bar Association. In the spring of 2024, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted a mandate forcing all law schools to adopt policies designed to prevent the student protests that have taken place since October 7, 2023.
Baton Rouge, LA – On October 9, Louisiana State University’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a panel on the Tulane and Loyola University encampments for Gaza as part of their October 7 Week of Rage. LSU SDS invited members of Tulane and Loyola SDS and a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) from New Orleans. They highlighted their wins and explored lessons learned from planning and implementing the encampment.
Baton Rouge, LA – On October 7, 30 Louisiana State University students rallied outside of their student union to resist after one year of Israel's ongoing, lethal siege on Gaza. Students were rallying to not only honor the martyrs of Palestine but to draw attention to the ways the university has worked to financially support and legitimize Israel. They also protested the Israeli and U.S.-backed escalation, which is expanding the war to Lebanon and other parts of the Middle-East.
“Frecuentemente se escuchan de horribles abusos de los derechos humanos en todo el mundo, pero a sólo dos horas de distancia se encuentra una de las violaciones más graves de los derechos humanos, que se encuentra en la prisión federal de máxima seguridad de Florence”, afirmó Mark Burton al inicio de su presentación sobre su cliente, el revolucionario colombiano Simón Trinidad.
Tallahassee, FL – On October 9, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society, in collaboration with other local community organizers, held a press conference to condemn Florida State University for platforming an Israeli soldier, Yair Ansbacher. Ansbacher, a Zionist propagandist, was given an opportunity to express his genocidal beliefs while pro-Palestine student activists are repressed.
Denver, CO – “You often hear of horrific human rights abuses around the world but just two hours down the road is one of the grossest violations of human rights, located at the federal supermax prison in Florence,” stated Mark Burton to open his presentation about his client, Colombian revolutionary Simon Trinidad.
Burton went on to describe to the attentive student crowd the inhumane conditions of the prolonged solitary confinement suffered by those who “are attempted to be thrown away and forgotten.” Although most of the world views prolonged solitary confinement as psychological torture, the U.S. does not.
