Boston University students held an independent student organizing town hall at the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground Sunday, where speakers discussed participating in community activism and the fate of the University-wide divestment referendum bill.
The event was organized by BU Resistance Network in collaboration with member organizations including Young Democratic Socialists of America at BU, BU Prison Outreach Initiative, BU Students for Justice in Palestine and BU Graduate Workers Union. Club representatives, union members and University professors gave speeches united by themes of collective action.
Speaker Pamela Zabala Ortiz, a sociology professor, spoke about her participation in a walkout at Marsh Plaza organized Jan. 26 to protest Trump’s “draconian” immigration reform.
Zabala Ortiz said in her speech she was “heartened” to see BU community members unite at the walkout, and underscored the importance of maintaining hope and consistency when partaking in activism.
“Nothing has impressed me more than the tenacity and the moral fortitude that I have seen in you, in the student body and in students like yourselves who continue to draw attention to the most pressing crises of our time, despite the ongoing opposition,” Zabala Ortiz said.
Speaker Carlos Campos Jr., a doctoral student and member of BUGWU, gave a speech about the historic principle of student activism.
“We must have this historic responsibility and take pride that we are the engine of history,” Campos said. “Through our work, we can bring down all systems of oppression and pave the way for a new world.”
Campos advocated for a leftist, socialist world “without bosses, without oppressors, without nations and without conflict.”
“We want a society that ends all of those things that force you to live a life that is not yours, that you must prove day to day that you have a reason to exist,” Campos said. “We deserve to exist for the very reason that we simply exist.”
After their speech, Campos said they hope their words inspired the audience to build the courage to work together to organize an active student movement.
YDSA student speaker Preston, who requested The Daily Free Press only use a first name due to security concerns, said the town hall was a “huge opportunity” for student activist groups to organize. Preston said it was time for activists to “lock in” and mobilize the leftist student movement.
“Sharpen your mind. Harden your heart,” Preston said.
Junior Mary Haddad, who represented BU SJP at the event, criticized the University’s response to the SJP referendum bill, which was passed by BU Student Government Feb. 3 allowing students to vote on questions about the disclosure, divestment and reinvestment of University funding. The vote’s results were nullified Feb. 10 due to “security and technological issues” with the survey.
“When we adhere to their democratic processes, they rewrite it,” Haddad said. “[The University] withheld the adequate resources for us to conduct a democratic University-wide statistic that would test if students want divestment, disclosure and reinvestment.”
At the end of her speech, Haddad stressed the importance of activists committing to their movement of choice while prioritizing collective liberation.
“Let us ground ourselves in theory and resist the silencing of our institution,” Haddad said. “Let us focus on local community, on our campus, while understanding that the fight is greater than any university.”
