University of Washington Progressive Student Union
University of Washington Progressive Student Union is a Seattle affiliate of New Students for a Democratic Society.
Justice for Tyre Nichols
According to Dylan Pruitt, protesters and community members rallied at Dexter Avenue N and Thomas Street in the late afternoon of January 29, 2023 to call for justice for Tyre Nichols, Jaahnavi Kandula and all victims of police violence.
Eighty people gathered at the rally organized by the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and held at the intersection where Jaahnavi Kandula was killed by a speeding police vehicle.
“We hate that we have to be out here again and again, but we still don’t have justice for those killed by police terror,” said Clio Jensen, an organizer with SAARPR.
“The end goal is abolition. We just need a tool to get us there,” says Mantak Singh from the University of Washington Progressive Student Union. “Community control of the police, through a civilian police accountability council, is the best way to achieve that.”
“Enough is enough, we need to take back control for the people,” said Mantak Singh.[1]
“Don’t Say Gay” protest
According to Mantak Singh, on November 18, the University of Washington Progressive Student Union (PSU) held a banner drop in protest of the national “Don’t Say Gay” bill, introduced by Congressional Republicans last month.
Raymond Chen of PSU said, “This bill is a shameless exploitation of LGBTQ people in education, medical care and legal aid. This rally promoted the unreasonableness of this bill and has taken a solid step in promoting our reputation.”[2]
Abortion protest
According to Mantak Singh, sixty people gathered on the University of Washington campus, October 16, 2022 to rally for reproductive rights. Called by University of Washington Progressive Student Union (PSU), this protest was in response to the national call to action by New Students for a Democratic Society.
“While it’s important to get educated on these issues, it is also important to take action!” declared Anjali Sinha of Progressive Student Union. Local labor organizers, activists and students at the University of Washington echoed this call and gave ways to get involved.
“Police budgets increasing while our rights are rolled back is a disturbing trend, even here in Washington where reproductive rights seem safer,” said Vicki Amole of the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
“Reproductive rights are worker’s rights. Unions build power so that workers can have autonomy over their lives - from improving wages and closing the gender wage gap to having access to healthcare,” Unite Here Local 8 organizer Sydney Lankford asserted.
Toward the end, Clio Jensen of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization explained, “Queer liberation, trans liberation and women’s liberation necessitate an end to capitalism - only a revolution that puts working people in power can do that.”[3]