Protestors call out SU for silence on Trump administration policies

Hundreds gathered at Syracuse University’s Remembrance Memorial Thursday to protest recent Trump administration actions. Part of a growing national movement, the rally focused on resisting federal overreach and supporting international students facing visa revocations.

Organized by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at SU, the event highlighted concerns over the administration’s impact on academic freedom, immigration and the rights of students and faculty.

More than 300 participants, including students, professors and local residents, filled the area, holding signs, chanting and delivering speeches.

SU professor emerita Mara Sapon-Shevin was one of the amplified voices to the crowd. 

Photo by Ike Wood

Mara Sapon-Shevin voices her concerns of the Trump administration and the impacts that it is having on Syracuse University during Thursday’s Hands Off! rally.

“We come together to talk about all the attacks on democracy and justice, on universities and students,” Sapon-Shevin said. “This isn’t just about lamenting what’s happening in our country. It’s about being empowered to act.”

Sapon-Shevin emphasized the importance of civic engagement on college campuses, particularly at a time when institutions of higher learning have become political battlegrounds. 

“College campuses are under attack right now. This is a real site of struggle,” Sapon-Shevin said.

The protest also referenced SU’s absence from a list of more than 200 universities whose leaders signed a letter condemning the Trump Administration’s “overreach.”   

Sapon-Shevin acknowledged a petition circulating with more than 950 signatures to encourage SU to affirm student rights and protections, noting that collective action among university leaders is critical. 

“They can’t pick us off one at a time,” Sapon-Shevin said.

Gabriel Davila-Campos, a senior at the School of Information Studies, stood among the hundreds gathered, holding a sign that read “Stand up or bow down.” 

Photo by Ike Wood

Protestors hold signs during the Hands Off! rally Thursday at Syracuse University.

For him, the stakes of the protest were deeply personal and urgent.

“Hands off my education. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Davila-Campos said. “Education can be disruptive in the best ways possible. And when you’re interfering with that, you’re interfering with the well-being of so many people — the access that education can grant.”

Davila-Campos said he felt a mix of emotions watching the crowd come together, but pride was front and center. 

“It’s a powerful feeling to actually stand up to something you feel is right and have the courage to do that,” Davila-Campos said. 

Among the protesters were retired teacher Diane Holliday and retired finance professional Kim Rossiter. Both said they were alarmed by the treatment of students, especially those whose visas were revoked without due process.

“We found that by standing up, it’s getting some attention,” Holliday said. “Because sitting down and doing nothing? It gets worse.”

The protest, for them, was about more than politics. It was about making sure they didn’t remain silent.

“We’re both on Social Security. We live off investments, and we see what’s happening with the market,” Rossiter said. “But it’s not just about us. We have friends and family who are LGBTQ+, who are immigrants. We’re speaking up for all of them.”

Professor Harvey Teres, a longtime member of the SU faculty and the American Association of University Professors, spoke candidly about his motivation for joining the demonstration.

“I’m watching the fundamental values of this country — values I took for granted — being destroyed,” Teres said. “This isn’t just a single-issue protest. It’s a fight for the Constitution itself.”

Teres, who has taught at SU since 1993, emphasized the opportunity students have to shape the future. 

“Historically, students have played a key role in every major movement. And now, they’re being called again to defend what’s right,” Teres said.

Throughout the event, signs read “Hands Off Our University,” a slogan that organizers say captures the broader mission: to protect the university as a place of inquiry, diversity and freedom from political interference.

Professor Thomas Keck, an organizer for the protest and recent demonstration in Syracuse’s Forman Park, connected the SU protest to similar efforts at Columbia University, Harvard University and other institutions facing pressure. 

“We want our [university] administration standing up for academic freedom and international students publicly,” Keck said. “This isn’t just about policy. It’s about who we are as a university community.”

With plans already forming for continued action in the fall, speakers emphasized that the energy from Thursday’s rally must carry forward.

“If we all just sit back and let it happen, we’re alone. We’re isolated. And it’s going to be even worse. But if you get involved, you’re not alone anymore,” Holliday said.