USF admin shuts down protest calling for free speech

*SDS protesters planned to hold signs and chant for free speech. ORACLE PHOTO/LILY BELCHER*

A group of student protesters were escorted away from the Marshall Student Center Tuesday afternoon before the start of their rally.

Around seven Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) members walked to the MSC around 2 p.m., planning to chant and hold signs advocating for student free speech, SDS organizer Vicky Tong said.

“I think it’s ironic that we’re trying to hold a free speech rally and they shut us down,” said Tong, who is a senior psychology major.

SDS was expelled as a USF organization over the summer after its involvement with a series of on-campus protests calling for the university to divest from companies that support Israel.

Because of the expulsion, SDS is not allowed to host events on campus, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said.

Johnson said students were told they were not allowed to host their publicized rally on-campus. She said students were asked for their student IDs and referred to Student Conduct and Ethical Development.

“USF can review the conduct of individual students and take action as appropriate in accordance with university policy,” she said.

After its involvement with April’s protests, SDS was expelled and banned from holding any events or utilizing/reserving university space in July, according to a letter sent to SDS from Melissa Graham, the director of Student Conduct and Ethical Development.

The letter details several violations of the student code of conduct, including failing to comply with law enforcement, facilitating and encouraging others to violate university rules, disrupting campus, disobeying law enforcement and illegally possessing a firearm on campus.

“We still believe that we are an innocent organization,” Tong said.

SDS member Isabella Deshene, a senior biology major, said the group was hoping to inform students who were walking to class about how new policies are “stifling student organizations.”

“USF doesn’t care about those demands and they just went ahead and still shut us down, even though nothing actually ever happened,” Deshene said.

Code of Conduct policy 6-028 explicitly prohibits the use of amplified sound, which includes elevated voices, without getting approval from administration before the event.

Only USF organizations can obtain approval from the university.

Tong said the group was not planning to use devices to amplify their voices, but their chants would be considered amplified sound.

*Student protesters were escorted away from the MSC by law enforcement Tuesday. ORACLE PHOTO/CLARA ROKITA GARCIA*

As the group walked toward the MSC, she said Dean of Students Danielle McDonald, other administrators and University Police were waiting for them.

McDonald asked the students to hand her their student IDs and threatened the group with code of conduct charges, Tong said.

Deshene said if they did not show their student IDs, McDonald said the police would get involved. After the warning, the protesters complied and were escorted away by law enforcement.

When advertising the event on Instagram, SDS did not disclose where it would be hosted, but asked students interested in attending to directly message them for the location.

Tong said this was because a previous event on Sept. 3 was shut down before it could start because SDS advertised the location.

The Sept. 3 rally was organized to defend the “student movement,” call for the university to divest and demand the university reverse the suspension and expulsion of two SDS members, according to the Instagram post.

Deshene said the administration “like[s] to stake out” SDS events.

“We’re all students here, but apparently we can’t be on campus doing any kind of public display,” Deshene said.