Tampa, FL – On Thursday, March 9, students, and community members gathered for a press conference to demand justice for the four protesters who were brutalized and arrested at the University of South Florida (USF) on Monday, March 6. The press conference was hosted by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and consisted of statements of solidarity from numerous organizations at USF and across the Tampa Bay community.

Orlando, FL – On March 9, University of Central Florida (UCF) students participated in a solidarity action for the Tampa 4, a group of activists with University of South Florida (USF) Students for a Democratic Society that were brutalized by USF Police Department and arrested for protesting outside the university president's office.

Minneapolis, MN – 20 people gathered at a busy Dinkytown intersection for a rally organized by Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota to show solidarity with the Tampa 4 and demand that all charges against them be dropped.

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

_Tampa 4 face felony charges _

Tampa, FL – On Monday, March 6, students at the University of South Florida marched to the president's office to protest attacks against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs by Governor Ron DeSantis. Led by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the protesters marched to the building that houses the president's office and occupied the lobby to demand a meeting with the president.

Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, February 21, around 20 students at the University of South Florida gathered outside of the Marshall Student Center to show their support for affirmative action and diversity programs, and to demand increased Black enrollment at their university. Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called this protest alongside other SDS chapters to bring attention to two U.S. Supreme Court cases which might overturn affirmative action measures, one against Harvard University and one against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

By staff

Denver, CO – On February 1, about 40 students from the Auraria campus community came out to show solidarity with the latest wave of victims of police brutality. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), alongside the Black Student Alliance, held a vigil for Tyre Nichols, Manuel “Tortuguita” Paez Terán, and Keenan Anderson – each of whom were murdered by police in January. Students had the opportunity to speak out and voice their grief and anger towards these murders that continue to happen in the United States.

New Orleans, LA – Students United, a group of student organizers at the University of New Orleans, voted unanimously to affiliate with the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in January 2023. With their affiliation, SDS has come to New Orleans’ largest public university. This group waged a successful campaign against a UNO fee hike in 2022, and will continue to build the student movement on campus.

Tampa, FL – On Thursday, January 19, members of Tampa Bay’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a banner drop disrupting the inauguration of the new University of South Florida President Rhea Law. Students stood atop chairs in the auditorium holding a banner that read “We won't wait, increase Black enrollment now!'' as Will Weatherford, the Board of Trustees chair presented Law as the new president.

Milwaukee, WI – On December 12, members of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) delivered a petition demanding a hiring freeze be placed on the UWM police department. The petition, part of the SDS “Chop from the Cops” campaign, had hundreds of signatures.

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

On Thursday, December 1, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led a march to the president of the University of South Florida’s mansion to protest the university’s low Black student enrollment. The students also called for the University of South Florida (USF) police department to cancel its participation in the 1033 Program, which allows police to buy decommissioned military weapons from the Department of Defense, and students say the police department should return the equipment it received from the program.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Arlington, TX – On November 10, at the University of Texas at Arlington, over 100 students gathered in front of College Hall shouting “Transphobes go home!” and “This is what community looks like,” showing their outrage at the platforming of the transphobic bigot Jeff Younger.  Younger had been invited to speak by Turning Point USA (TPUSA) following his primary defeat in the Texas House of Representatives race. Jeff Younger’s entire campaign was built on attempting to further criminalize trans healthcare for youth in the United States.

Arlington, TX – On October 31, the Progressive Student Union held a silent protest at the University of Texas at Arlington's presidential open forum and Q and A with newly inducted President Jennifer Cowley. The students arrived with signs in hand and with a large banner boldly stating “E.H. Hereford was a segregationist! UTA should not honor this!” The Progressive Student Union demands UTA rename the University Center, presently named the E.H. Hereford University Center; take down Herefords bust in the same building, and rename the neighboring Woolf Hall.

Denver, CO – On November 10, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) continued their campaign against the Auraria Campus Police Department’s (ACPD) ongoing participation in the Department of Defense’s 1033 program, otherwise referred to as the LESO Program. The program provides police departments with military grade weapons and supplies.

Minneapolis, MN – 45 University of Minnesota students and community members gathered November 11 outside the Prospect Park location of First Care Pregnancy Center to demand that crisis pregnancy centers be removed from campus and defunded by the state. A classroom projector was used to display slogans such as “Abortion is healthcare” and “Fake abortion clinic” on the front of the building as protesters chanted.

Arlington, TX – In the many decades since the University of Texas at Arlington ended segregation, students have fought long and hard to end the university’s practice of glorifying white supremacy.

Chicago, IL – On Monday, October 24 more than a dozen activists from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Anakbayan, a patriotic Filipino youth organization, and Young Democratic Socialists of America joined together for a demonstration. Students marched on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ROTC building to denounce the Biden administration’s intervention in Haiti and demand an end to the 12-year long UN occupation of the island. The protest was planned in connection with the United National Anti-War Coalition’s week of action.