| Friend, As protests heat up on college campuses, more than 2,000 people have been arrested nationwide.(1) On UCLA's campus, police in riot gear violently dismantled the pro-Palestinian encampment, arresting 210 protestors -- many students and staff.(2) The University of Southern California canceled valedictorian Asna Tabassum's commencement speech after she shared pro-Palestinian sentiment online.(3) No matter our beliefs about the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we should agree on one thing: Young people should be able to exercise their Constitutional right to peacefully protest. College students across California are having their rights violated, and we want to help them understand those rights. Our partner, ACLU Northern California, has provided critical information for protesters about their rights, and we've created these quick social media explainers to get the info out. Now we need you to help us share!
Whether it be Kent State or the Greensboro sit-ins, police violence against students has never been on the right side of history. In fact the largest employee union in the University of California system said on Thursday that it was preparing to ask some or all of its members to authorize a strike over the treatment of protesters at UCLA.(4) And there is no denying that the current protests are changing the course of history and are a necessary part of our democratic process. Protests have spread to more than one hundred campuses in the U.S. and are now in universities abroad, and Congress is finally moving toward real action because of the campus protests. We can help protect the students who are fighting for what they believe in by making sure they know their rights. We've made graphics based on the ACLU materials on the right to protest, which you can share on your own social media or with students that you know. And be sure they have the phone number of their local ACLU affiliate so they can report violations of their rights. Click one of the links above to share this information far and wide -- especially with the college students in your lives! Thank you for standing for our democratic rights! –Irene, Annie, Angela, Isidra, Mario, Marvin, Alyssa, Jen, and Lindsay (the Courage team)
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