Appleton Students for a Democratic Society
Appleton Students for a Democratic Society formerly Lawrence University Students for a Democratic Society is an Appleton Wisconsin affiliate of New Students for a Democratic Society.
Founders
Lawrence University Students for a Democratic Society, or the LU-SDS, is a newly formed student-led organization dedicated to the support of progressive and or revolutionary change in the world. Their platform includes a call for police accountability councils, fighting for safer spaces in marginalized groups, raising the minimum wage and diversifying Lawrence University clubs, classes and activities. Founded by juniors Terrence Freeman and Earl Simons, the two-month-old group is 20 members strong and growing.[1]
Appleton, WI: Historic week of Palestine actions
After a massive rally and march throughout downtown Appleton on May 15 2024 in commemoration of Nakba Day, the very next day, the student movement at Lawrence University took an action unseen on campus in decades.
Appleton Students for a Democratic Society, with the support of Lawrence University Young Democratic Socialists of America, staged a walkout and rally on May 16 to support their divestment campaign. Dozens of students joined them at the front of Main Hall. Energy was high, and, as students chanted, the energy only grew.
Theresa O'Donnell, a member of SDS, addressed the risks students must take, stating, “I have every intention on graduating June 9, but let me be clear that I have no reservations about jeopardizing a piece of paper to stand with the people of Palestine and a chance at the possibility of a livable future for all people on earth. The status and recognition from a piece of paper from a settler colonial institution that continues to ignore and thus enable the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people means little to me.”
After hearing from speakers, it was announced that students would be marching to the Warch Campus Center, bringing their demands for disclosure and divestment right before the board of trustees, whose investment committee was meeting at the time.
Students marched right to the doors of the meeting, chanting “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!” and “Meet with us!” Representatives of SDS offered to send four students inside their meeting to present their demands, and their offer was dismissed by a number of Lawrence administrators. However, the students were not deterred by this, and they continued to chant right up until the board of trustees ended their meeting. The trustees left by walking right through the crowd, heads bowed and surrounded by chants from the students.
On Monday, May 21, LU administrators sent out an email detailing their response to these student actions. Among its many outlandish claims was an accusation that SDS and YDSA violated the Disruptive Conduct and Hate Speech Policy. The email also announced a change to the protest policy, which would severely restrict the ability of students to demonstrate. Administration also claimed that the decision to change the protest policy was made with input from the student government, but this lie was exposed mess than an hour later by an email from the president of the student government condemning the changes.
Appleton SDS Co-chair Adam Fleischer described the policy as a “clear illustration of how the administration at this university is out of touch with its students and faculty.” He continued, stating that “telling students at a so-called institution of higher education that they must demonstrate ‘with civility and in conformity’ is an insult to their freedoms and critical thinking skills.”
The following day, on May 22, SDS and YDSA held a rally for divestment and a retraction of the new protest policy. Over 100 students and a dozen faculty gathered. Two police officers also arrived, seeking information from protesters. Lawrence University is a police-free campus, so when students saw the cops, their disgust with administration grew.
SDS member Bailey Nez began her speech in Diné Bizaad, the Navajo language. Later in her speech, she said, “I’m speaking today because I see the genocide in Palestine occurring not as some foreign conflict, as people claim in order to subdue us. I see my cheiis and masanis [grandfather and grandmother] in those faces in Gaza, my sisters and brothers in these children. The same horrific tactics used to try to exterminate my people are being done to the Palestinian people. It is sickening.”
At the end of the rally, Patrick Sweeney, co-chair of SDS, asked the crowd “Who wants to march?” The crowd responded affirmatively and marched right to Hamar House, the contracted residence of President Laurie Carter. [2]
Rally for divestment
On Thursday, April 18, 2024 dozens of students gathered at the main hall of the university in support of Appleton Students for a Democratic Society’s divestment campaign. This rally came days after Iran struck back against Israel, who two weeks ago, bombed an Iranian consulate in a brazen disregard of international law.
Co-chair of Appleton SDS Patrick Sweeney began the rally with a statement on their demands for targeted divestment from weapons and tech manufacturers that contract with and profit off of Palestinian genocide, comprehensive divestment from the fossil fuel industry, the establishment of a code of ethics for moral future investment, and the creation of an accessible financial accountability process.[3]
Pro abortion rally
On May 14 2022, Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, a coalition of progressive Appleton residents, and Appleton Students for a Democratic Society organized a rally to safeguard the reproductive rights of women and others capable of giving birth across the country.
Madi Jones, a member of Appleton SDS, not only proclaimed that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a threat to the rights of all people with uteruses, but she further highlighted the way in which the birth control movement has historically disenfranchised oppressed nationality working-class people.[4]
Palestine rally
On April 13 2022, the Appleton Students for a Democratic Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization held a rally that expressed solidarity with the Palestinian national liberation struggle and demanded an end to the Israeli occupation.
Gustavo Zuniga, the deputy chair of SDS, initiated the rally by reading an official statement that delineated SDS’s stance on the Palestinian struggle: “Appleton SDS condemns the U.S.-backed, Israeli occupation of Palestine. We - an organization that stands in solidarity with all oppressed peoples - vehemently support the Palestinian national liberation struggle for self-determination against the settler colonial government of Israel. The nation of Israel exists on an expanse of stolen land, which must rightfully be returned to the Palestinian people by any means necessary.”
Terrence Freeman, the chairman of SDS and a member of FRSO, added, “The ongoing liberation struggle in Palestine has been forgotten. It is time that we bring attention back to Palestine’s fight for freedom, and if you are truly progressive and anti-war, you must care about this fight.”
The rally organizers emphasized the West’s complicity in the oppression of Palestinian people, with Audari Tamayo, a member of both FRSO and SDS, proclaiming, “Israel’s crimes have always been supported by the Western world - with the missiles and bullets that kill and wound Palestinians simply defending their homes having the damn names of weapons manufacturers based in the U.S., France, Britain and other imperialist states.”
Tamayo posed the following inquiry to the audience, “Why did Amnesty wait so long to go against the status quo and say what we already knew for years?” Tamayo put Amnesty’s report in a larger context, asserting, “NGOs and so-called human rights organizations like Amnesty were created to neutralize liberation movements and often helped Western states carry out the same oppressive agenda they are supposedly against.”[5]
“Fight for $15
November 2021 Appleton, WI - The Appleton Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Sunrise Fox Valley are continuing the “Fight for $15 at Lawrence University. This campaign seeks to increase the on-campus student worker minimum wage to $15 per hour. At the moment, the average student worker is undercompensated with a meagre $7.25 wage, which is unable to meet the rising costs of tuition and other exorbitant living expenses.
Through consistent agitation and numerous flyer drives, Appleton SDS has been able to gain the support of hundreds of student workers and other sympathetic allies. With the assistance of Sunrise Fox Valley, Appleton SDS hosted an open rally in front of Warch Campus center on October 25. There was a significant turnout of dozens of students over the course of the event. However, zero administrators made an appearance.
The rally was kicked off by a rousing speech given by Terrence Freeman, the co-founder and chair of Appleton SDS. Freeman highlighted the indispensability of student labor on campus.
“We need to recognize that Lawrence University cannot function without student labor power. That is an undeniable fact. What would happen if students didn’t work in the Viking Room, or the library, or the wellness center? I’ll tell you what would happen: Lawrence University would sink under its own weight because we’re the ones who keep this damn institution afloat,” Freeman said.
Next, Anders Hanhan, a leading member of Sunrise Fox Valley, decried the low wages provided by Lawrence University, noting that they have caused many student workers to quit their jobs. After him, Diego Leon and Jonnie Urban, two members of Appleton SDS, discussed how they have been personally exploited as student workers. Urban, a worker at the on-campus bar, asserted that increasing the minimum wage would greatly benefit all student workers, especially those who are either low-income or disabled.
Freeman condemned the wealth disparity at Lawrence University, noting that the annual salary of the 12 highest earners at the institution is nearly double that of all student workers on campus.
“The annual earnings for student workers is a total of $1.6 million. However, the 12 highest earning administrators at Lawrence make a combined $2.5 million annually. This sounds like wealth redistribution needs to happen,” Freeman said.[6]
Lawrence University Fight For $15
On April 16 2021, the Appleton Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Sunrise Appleton, the Student Liberation Front and a grouping of international students kicked off their Fight for $15 campaign at Lawrence University. Many international students have been discussing the idea of a potential raise of the minimum wage at Lawrence University. Currently, the average student worker makes $7.25 an hour and for many students on-campus jobs are their only avenue of income.
The students who rely on these wages to survive, with the help of student organizations have started to collaborate in this fight for a living wage. The three organizations (Appleton SDS, Student Liberation Front and Sunrise Appleton) hosted an open rally at Warch Campus Center, raised a banner and passed out a list of demands to sign. There was a good turnout of around 30 students and faculty over the course of the event.
The rally was kicked off by Barrah Kunaan who spoke of her personal experience as an international student surviving on Lawrence University’s low student worker wage. Next, Terrence Freeman, president of Appleton Students for a Democratic Society, gave a rousing speech calling out Administration.
“Lawrence University, just like any other institution of higher education, seeks to extract the most amount of profit from its students, its workers, its faculty and staff…and these profits go to pockets of administrators,” Freeman said.
Next, Gustavo Zuniga of the Student Liberation Front shared his experience as a student worker. Making only $81.00 bi-monthly, going to the grocery store is a luxury for him. Gustavo emphasized how an increase of the minimum wage can improve the material conditions of students who rely on Lawrence University paychecks.
As the speeches started to wind down, Terrence Freeman emphasized to the crowd that the struggle for a living wage will not come overnight, but instead is a long struggle that we must all fight for.[7]
SDS
In 2021 Terrence Freeman was the chair of the Lawrence University Students for a Democratic Society.