Minneapolis, MN – Over 50 students from around the state gathered at the Occupy Minnesota site here, Oct. 13. They came together to speak to the struggles of students burdened by crippling debts, challenged by inequalities and struggling to get an education in a system corrupted by corporate interests.
Tallahassee, FL – On Sept. 28, more than 50 students from Florida State University (FSU) came together to rally against proposed 15% tuition hikes and continued cuts to education.
Tampa, FL – On Sept. 22, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) announced the beginning of their campaign against a 15% tuition hike at the University of South Florida (USF). The students gathered outside the Marshall Student Center to kick off their campaign. Over the summer and then again in the fall, USF administrators hiked up tuition, increasing it from 8% up to 15%. Students are upset. As SDS member Dustin Ponder says, “This story is all too familiar across the nation. We in USF's SDS will not stand by and let such an injustice go unchallenged. In the past few weeks, SDS and other local activist organizations have been reaching out to the students of USF and are building support for an upcoming protest against attacks on our education.”
Gainesville, FL – Este otoño, grupos estudiantiles en Tallahassee, Pensacola, Gainesville, Tampa, y Orlando están haciendo mucho activismo y están ganando sus demandas, mientras que las clases se resumieron sólo hace unas semanas.
Gainesville, FL – 80 members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and their allies participated in a march here, Sept. 16, against annual tuition hikes planned by administrators at the University of Florida (UF). Administrators say they will raise tuition by 15% or more each year through 2019.
Gainesville, FL – On Sept 14, the University of Florida chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied together in favor of Palestine’s United Nation’s bid for statehood. About 30 students came together in Turlington Plaza to chant and hold signs supporting the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Gainesville, FL – The group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in Gainesville has a new reason to celebrate. On Sept. 6, student activists at the University of Florida (UF) defeated the block tuition system proposed by the administration and their Board of Trustees.
Tampa, FL – All across Florida this fall, student activists in are off to an amazing start. Groups in Tallahassee, Pensacola, Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando have blasted onto the scene with activism and victories, although universities and colleges started 2011-2012 classes only weeks ago.
Gainesville, FL – The Graduate Assistants Union (GAU) and allies from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied against student fees leveled upon graduate students at the University of Florida, Aug. 16. Volunteers began by leafleting and talking to teaching assistant employees about the importance of banding together and fighting for the union that provides them with healthcare and pay stipends. Many graduate students are surprised to learn that without the union, fees would go up every year like other campuses. Now the GAU union hopes to eliminate the fees, making graduate school more affordable for everyone. Most graduate student employees understand how poorly the administration treats them, despite teaching almost 50% of all undergraduate courses.
Washington, DC – More than 10,000 teachers and students assembled here, July 30, for the Save Our Schools Conference and March. The event was met with national media attention.
San Salvador, El Salvador – El 30 de julio marcharon mas de 2,000 personas para conmemorar el 36 aniversario de un masacre de estudiantes salvadoreños el 30 de julio 1975. La marcha salió de la Universidad de El Salvador (UES) y marchó hacia el puente donde en 1975 los cuerpos de seguridad y del ejército reprimieron una manifestación pacifica en que los estudiantes marcharon para exigir sus derechos y defender la UES que en este tiempo sufrió represión constante de las fuerzas militares y policiales.
San Salvador, El Salvador – On July 30 more than 2000 people marched here to commemorate the 36th anniversary of a massacre of Salvadoran students on July 30, 1975. The march started at the University of El Salvador (UES) and marched to the bridge where in 1975 the security forces and military violently repressed a peaceful protest where students were marching to demand their rights and to defend the UES. At that time the UES suffered from constant repression from the military and police.
*Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call to action from Students for a Democratic Society regarding the Students and Youth March to Save Our Schools! July 28-31, Washington D.C.*
Milwaukee, WI – A dozen members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) marched in Independence Day parades for the fourth year in a row over the July 4 weekend. The group of student and youth activists entered parades – without registering – in Whitefish Bay and Shorewood, which are in the midst of a heated recall campaign against Republican State Senator Alberta Darling.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Students for a Democratic Society's National Working Committee in support of the veteran Chicano leader Carlos Montes.
Chicago, IL – On May 26, over 65 people, including many clerical workers who are members of IFT Local 1708, gathered at Malcom X College in Chicago. They came to address City Hall and the Board of Trustees for the City Colleges about recent policies that seek to further privatize city colleges. Chairman Martin Cabrera and other board members failed to show and the coalition to Save City Colleges was thrown out of the meeting space. This was the second time officials agreed to meet and hear the concerns of the community only to fail to follow through.
Chicago, IL – On May 23, DePaul University’s Fair Business Practices Committee (FBPC) made a recommendation to the president on whether or not to replace Sabra hummus with an alternative brand in campus dining halls. Throughout the past six months, the FBPC, consisting of faculty, staff and student representatives, has met both internally and with students on both sides of the controversial hummus debate.
Chicago, IL- In a press conference held May 13, City College faculty and students joined forces with community activists to protest attacks coming down on the colleges from the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Cheryl Hyman. Professor Jessi Choe of Wright College announced plans to protest at the inauguration of incoming mayor Rahm Emanuel, Monday, May 16 at 9:30 a.m. Marching from Roosevelt University to Millennium Park, they will demand the trustees hold public hearings so students, workers and the community have their voices heard.
Raleigh, NC – A massive crowd of 8000 teachers, youth and community members wearing red shirts swelled outside the North Carolina State Legislative Building on May 3 to protest cuts to education. The rally was organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators. Dozens of community and grassroots organizations, including the NAACP, Farm Labor Organizing Committee and Students for a Democratic Society, mobilized to show their support for public school teachers and to defend education from attack by right-wing legislators.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Dozens of students and community members protested Karl Rove at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) on April 25. Karl Rove was George W. Bush’s Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff, and among those responsible for engineering the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan which have cost millions of lives. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led their second protest against Rove, demanding Rove return an estimated $50,000 he has been paid for two visits to the school. SDS demanded that money go to Iraqi and Afghani children who have suffered at the hands of U.S. occupation.