Tampa, FL — On Thursday October 9, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society held a press conference to announce they had filed a lawsuit against the University of South Florida (USF) Board of Trustees, the USF Police Department, President Rhea Law, Dean of Students Danielle McDonald and Assistant Dean Melissa Graham.
The lawsuit was filed on October 8, due to the continued repression USF has pushed against free speech on campus including expelling Tampa Bay SDS as an organization, creating policies limiting protest, and expelling SDS member Victoria Hinckley along with charging others with conduct violations.
The lawsuit is only the latest advance in Tampa Bay SDS’s campaign to defend free speech on campus. Previous attempts at filing complaints against USF, like Student Equal Opportunity Report forms, a Title VI Complaint, and attempts at reaching out directly to their lawyers, have been met without response, leading to this new lawsuit.
Ending the press conference, SDS spokesperson Saba Indawala said, “We demand that SDS be reinstated on campus and for the free speech of our members and supporters to be protected on campus. We will continue fighting on the right side of history and fighting for the right to free speech on USF campus. We’re going to continue fighting for our right to protest the genocide happening in Gaza!”
#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS #FreeSpeech #Palestine #AntiWarMovement
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