Left Spot Student Movement Blog

Reprinted from Fight Back News (see photos on original site too):

Student Protest Shuts Down the Minutemen at UCLA

By Eric Gardner

Los Angeles, CA - Chanting, “What do we want? Legalization! When do we want it? Now!” a group of over 200 University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) students and community members gathered outside of a campus lecture hall where Carl Braun, executive director of the California Minutemen Civil Defense Corps was scheduled to speak, Feb. 6.

The rally was organized by members of UCLA’s Moviemento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) chapter, the Association of Raza Graduate Students and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) along with a number of other student and community groups. It had originally been called to denounce the vigilante Minutemen and protest the presence of their statewide leader at the university. As news of the protest spread, the university administration - clearly fearing a repeat of the incident that took place at Columbia University last fall, where a group of students disrupted a talk by the Minutemen and ultimately forced them to leave - cancelled Braun’s invitation, citing security concerns.

While the right wing on campus has attempted to label the events of the evening as a violation of the Minutemen’s rights, the protesters emphasized that this was not an issue of ‘freedom of speech.’ Demonstrators from the whole range of participating groups were clear: They were not denouncing a mere opinion group.

“It’s a human rights violation, what these people are doing,” said Cynthia Flores of UCLA MEChA. “If [the Minutemen] aren’t assassins, I don’t know what they are.” Erika Coronado, from the Raza Graduate Student Association, described the Minutemen as paramilitaries. “We know that this organization is the ignorant byproduct of a greater power structure that seeks to exploit our people, that benefits from seeing our people earning miserias, earning crumbs. And still they deport us, and still they separate our families? No. We will not stand for that. We are on our land and we will not be kicked off,” Coronado said.

“Fascist scapegoating is not up for academic discussion,” read a statement about the event by the UCLA SDS chapter. “Like Hitler in pre-Nazi Germany, the Minutemen attempt to demonize foreign-born poor people, blaming ‘illegals’ for society’s problems.”

Between the speeches, many took up the chant of, “We didn’t cross the border - the border crossed us!”

The general mood at the rally was one of victory. Organizers felt that by organizing a protest they were able to prevent a man who is considered by many to be morally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of undocumented workers from spreading his message on their campus. “I hope that students at other schools will look at what we accomplished here as an example,” said Gurujiwan Khalsa of UCLA SDS, “just as we were inspired by the students at Columbia University.”

Reprinted from Fight Back News:

North Carolina:
Students Rally Against Anti-Arab Hate Crime

By Staff

Greensboro, NC - Students from colleges across North Carolina rallied Feb. 2 against a recent hate crime committed against three Palestinian students at Guilford College. The regional protest was organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapters at University of North Carolina-Asheville and UNC Chapel Hill.

The three Palestinian students at Guilford College were attacked and beaten by fifteen Guilford football players on Jan. 20. The victims, Faris Khadar, Osama Sabbah and Omar Awartani, were residence neighbors with the assailants and had no history of violence. They were kicked and beaten with fists, bricks and brass knuckles, while being called ‘terrorists’ and ‘sand n___’ among other racial slurs. One received nerve damage in his hand, another a fractured nose, and the third a fractured jaw, according to the students’ attorney. Only five of the fifteen alleged assailants were arrested.

Following the brutal attack, Guilford students took it upon themselves to organize a mass walk-out in protest of the attack and to call for justice. Bryan Dellinger, one of the student organizers, explained how the unplanned protest came together.

“There were about eight core people who organized the walk-out,” said Dellinger. “It was on the 25th of January, and around 300 students total walked out in protest. It was an opportunity for everyone - students, faculty and community members - for people to share their thoughts and feelings about what happened. It was a really positive experience.”

A week later, SDS chapters and other progressive organizations at UNC-Asheville and UNC-Chapel Hill were quick to mobilize local actions on their campuses. Calling for an end to anti-Arab attacks and discrimination, SDSers handed out flyers, discussed ways to show solidarity to Guilford students and demand action from the administration.

“We will not tolerate violence or bigotry in our communities,” said Haley Koch, of the UNC-Chapel Hill Solidarity with Palestine through Education and Action at Carolina. “We want to send a clear message of compassion, solidarity and inclusion to marginalized communities in North Carolina, the United States and across the globe.”

As of yet, there still has been no timely response of the Guilford administration in determining whether the attack qualifies as a hate crime or not. The case is being tried in the Guilford Judicial Board and may take several weeks longer for results. Greensboro police have stated that they dropped their investigation due to supposed lack of evidence.

Students in North Carolina and across the country have voiced strong opposition to attacks on oppressed nationalities. In the wake of 911 and the ongoing Iraq War, anti-Arab hate crimes and Islamophobia have risen throughout the U.S. and must be countered with mass mobilization, education and protest. Swift justice is needed for those who are the victims of such oppression.

If you would like to help, please call or contact the Guilford College president’s office at 336-316-2146 to demand a swift and thorough investigation.