NYU Students join National Day of Action against Trump’s attacks on higher education

New York, NY – On November 7, over a dozen students joined a rally led by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), with endorsements from several other student and faculty organizations. The rally was called in as a part of the National Day of Action called by the Students Rise Up coalition, a coalition of the Sunrise Movement, SDS, and others to fight back against Trump and his attacks on higher education.

The rally demanded NYU not comply with Trump and his attacks on our education. This means the university should reject Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, a proposal that offers federal funding for restricting trans spaces on campus, DEI initiatives, international student enrollment, and student/faculty free speech.

Oko Kanginan, a member of SDS, led the rally as emcee, “While NYU might wallow in cowardice, we as students will not stand idly by as Black students, immigrant students, international students, and trans students are being attacked and hunted under Trump’s regime. Trump’s university compact threatens Black enrollment – enrollment that NYU already fails to cultivate, terrorizes trans students, prohibits international enrollment, and violently threatens the free speech of both students and staff, among other egregious policies.”

A speaker from the Young Democratic Socialists of America, talked about Zohran Mamdani’s win stating, “NYU YDSA was also continuously on the ground canvassing, campaigning and fighting for Zohran to be elected, and as we heard in Zohran’s victory speech on Tuesday, he is committed to directly fighting Donald Trump and refusing to back down. We must mobilize with Mamdani and put our efforts into making his vision come to life. So I urge you to get involved.”

Zach Samlin, from the American Association of University Professors at NYU said, “The values that compact tries to enforce are discriminatory, in fact it tries to enshrine discrimination as the fundamental value of higher education. It proposes to control our political viewpoints within every field and department.”

To end the rally, Kanginan called on attendees to get organized. “As this country begins to devolve into fascism, it is of utmost importance that we continue to organize. I encourage all of you to join SDS, YDSA, or any student organization so that together we can struggle and win.”

Protesters chanted “Who got the power? We got the power! What kind of power? Student power!” before ending the rally.

#NewYorkNY #NY #SDS #StudentMovement