Baton Rouge, LA – On Sunday, May 4, Baton Rouge held a May Day rally at the State Capitol building, taking the fight for worker and immigrant rights directly to the seat of the state government. Demonstrators united on the steps of the capitol with signs and banners in hand to voice their support for the working class movement and their opposition to the Trump administration’s attacks.
Protesters chanted, “Trump, hear us loud and clear! Immigrants are welcome here!” and “The workers, united, will never be defeated!”
New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, May 6, New Orleans supporters packed the court for community activist Toni Jones’ trial in municipal court. Jones is chair of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police and a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. She was arrested while doing security for a Palestine protest over a year ago.
San Jose, CA – On May 1, over 1500 people gathered in San Jose for the annual International Workers Day march and rally. The event, organized by the San Jose May Day Coalition, called for a “Day Without an Immigrant” in response to recent attacks on workers and immigrants under the Trump administration.
Tampa, FL – On May 1, Tampa Bay’s Students for a Democratic Society held a rally in response to University of South Florida police’s plan to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The contract is an agreement between the University of South Florida Police Department and ICE that allows officers to enforce immigration laws under 287(g). This would allow police officers to detain, question and arrest students or faculty suspected of being undocumented.
New Brunswick, NJ – On Tuesday, April 29, Rutgers Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally against a speaking event hosted by Rutgers Hillel. The speech was part of “Israel Week,” a series of events intended to justify and celebrate the ongoing genocide and occupation of Palestine., New Jersey U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, a staunch Zionist and supporter of Israel’s war crimes, was invited to meet with students that day.
New Orleans, LA– On April 29, students at Loyola University New Orleans dropped a banner from the third floor of the school's Mass Communications building. The banner read “Loyola won’t listen, they’re raising our tuition: Affordable education for all.”
Tampa, FL – On Friday, April 25, collective bargaining began between designated representatives on behalf of the University of South Florida (USF) Board of Trustees and representatives of Graduate Assistants United (GAU). About 20 supporters were present in the audience, including members of GAU, United Faculty of Florida, and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.
New Orleans, LA – On Wednesday April 23 around 40 students, faculty and community members mobilized to demand Tulane become a sanctuary campus. The rally was held by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to urge Tulane to protect its international students and establish a clear policy stating noncompliance with ICE. Attendees also called on Tulane to protect free speech and not silence student activists.
Denver, CO – On Thursday, April 17, around 60 protesters gathered on Auraria Campus as part of a National Day of Action for Higher Education called by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The crowd was diverse, composed of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.
Tallahassee, FL- On Sunday, April 20, over 100 students and community members rallied at the Florida State Capitol building to stand against gun violence and white supremacist ideology. This rally comes mere days after Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old student at Florida State University who had reportedly espoused racist and white supremacist beliefs, killed Tiru Chabba and Robert Morales and injured six others in a mass shooting at FSU.
Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, April 19, Students for a Democratic Society held their Queer Rave fundraiser at The Bark. The event had been in the works for a couple of months, but after the mass shooting at Florida State University on April 17, SDS members were unsure of how to move forward. On that tragic Thursday, two non-students – Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba – were killed and six others were wounded by the shooter.
Baton Rouge, LA – On April 17, around 15 Louisiana State University (LSU) students rallied in Free Speech Alley in opposition to the Trump administration’s attacks on education. The students demanded that LSU make the university a sanctuary campus in defense of immigrant students and reverse policies attacking DEI and campus cultural centers.
Tampa, FL – On Friday, April 18, 15 people, including Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), students and community members, rallied near the entrance of the University of South Florida in response to the University of South Florida (USF) Police Department’s recent signing on with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The rally was in collaboration with the National Day of Action for Higher Education, a coalition of student and professor groups organizing in response to Trump’s recent attacks on higher education.
Orlando, FL – On Tuesday, April 8, Orlando Against Police Crimes and UCF Students for a Democratic Society held a press conference in support of Chris Gibson, a pro-Palestine student activist and member of UCF SDS who is facing felony charges for protesting Israel’s genocide against Palestine. Gibson was arrested and brutalized by Orlando Police Department officers outside of City Hall on October 7, 2024.
New York, NY – On April 14, over 40 students, alumni, faculty and community members rallied at Washington Square Park to hold NYU accountable for a white supremacist event that had been set to take place a few days before.
The NYU College Republicans were set to host an April 10 panel on campus called “Immigrant Invasion.” The panel scheduled three speakers: Elijah Schaffer, Sarah Stock and Lucian Wintrich. Students quickly found out about the event, and many of them took note of its xenophobic nature and the white supremacist backgrounds of all of the speakers. One of the speakers, Elijah Schaffer, used a Studio Ghibli-styled AI-art generation to create a poster for the event which depicted racist caricatures of Black men.
New York, NY – On Thursday, April 3 New York University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a teach-in on fighting political repression under the Trump presidency. The purpose of the teach-in was to empower students to know their rights when it comes to protesting, and how to fight back if the school or state bears down.
The teach-in hosted guest speakers Collin Poirot, a member of the National Lawyers Guild; Michela Martinazzi, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Laura Rodriguez, of the Tampa 5.
San Jose, CA – On April 9, around 60 San Jose State students and community members gathered by the campus’s Cesar Chavez arch to protest the recent revocation of student visas by the federal government. According to San Jose State University president Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, 12 San Jose State University International students had their F-1 visas revoked. The revocations came as part of a wave of visa revocations by the federal government, most of which are student visas.
Austin, TX – Around 40 students rallied at a walkout for immigrant rights in front of the UT Tower, Wednesday, April 9, at 11 a.m. The walkout is part of an ongoing campaign by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to kick ICE off campus. Students are calling on the university to take concrete actions to protect immigrant students and to refuse to collaborate with ICE.
Orlando, FL – On March 31, University of Central Florida (UCF) Students for a Democratic Society, Young Poet Society, and Young Democratic-Socialists of America came together to hold an open mic and fundraiser for Trans Day of Visibility, with all proceeds going towards Central Florida Mutual Aid’s Trans Safety Fund.
The goal of this event was to platform trans and queer voices on campus amid attacks on LGBTQ rights, including the recent unanimous decision by the UCF board of trustees to make it a conduct charge to use a bathroom that does not correspond with one’s “sex assigned at birth.”
Appleton WI – On Saturday April 5, 2500 protesters convened at Houdini Plaza as part of the national “Hands Off” day of action. The demonstration spread throughout downtown Appleton, encompassing the sidewalks of several whole city blocks.
This event comes after the one-sided defeat of Brad Schimel in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Schimel campaigned on banning abortion, stripping union rights and attacking immigrants, and his loss came despite the millions of dollars that Elon Musk personally poured into the campaign. Schimel’s loss is a clear indication that the people are against Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the reactionary Republican agenda expanding in Wisconsin.
