New Orleans, LA – On November 7, over 40 Tulane and Loyola students delivered letters to their university presidents saying no to the MAGA compact. The MAGA compact has been sent to many universities as the Trump administration continues attacks on higher education.
The organized effort was part of a National Day of Action called by National Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to show universities that students want them to reject Trump’s compact for higher education and reject Trump’s agenda as a whole.
Tulane students took their letter to university President Mike Fitts’s office and knocked on the door. Will Ferbos, vice president of university relations, came out instead of Fitts to accept the letter delivery. Students asked Ferbos if the administration discussed the compact, to which Ferbos replied no. When students asked if they could have a meeting, Ferbos replied, “I don’t know.” As this was going on, administrators called Tulane University Police Department (TUPD) on the students.
Mae Guidry, an SDS member and Loyola law student, gave a statement on the letter delivery on Loyola’s campus, stating, “We went to deliver the letter to Dr. Cole and he was not available. The secretary came to receive the letter and said she would pass it on. It has contact information, and if we don’t hear back from them, we will be out again protesting them. They should be able to answer their students about their higher education that’s on the line.”
After the letter deliveries, in both cases, university administrators failed to meet with the students who were expressing their concerns of the MAGA compact.
Loyola and Tulane SDS members then held a rally in front of Loyola University with signs that read, “Stand up to Trump,” “Stop admin greed” and “ICE off campus.”
“This compact is not about helping universities do better, it is about control. It’s racist, it’s reactionary, and it’s repressive. This compact allows the federal government to choose which schools receive funding based on if they follow the administration’s political agenda,” said Juleea Berthelot, a member of SDS and Loyola student. “This compact is a test for universities on if they will put their values over profit.”
Afterwards, the students marched to the front of Tulane University within sight and sound of administrative offices. They chanted, “Fitts come off it, students over profit!” and “When student rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, Fight back!”
“Spaces and cultural centers like the Q-spot, these programs that uplift and help communities where there is pain and suppression are a lifeline for so many people. To take these away is to deny the humanity and personhood of these people. Now is not the time for our universities to fall in line [with Trump],” said Jia Sharma-Chaube, a Tulane student and member of SDS.
Andreas Saint-Rogue, Tulane law student and member of SDS, closed out the protest by saying, “Universities love to claim the fighters they once suppressed. Make no mistake – they come for you today, they will come for you tomorrow.”
#NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #SDS #Trump
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