Five Florida State University (FSU) affiliates were arrested by campus police last month after setting up a pro-Palestine encampment on the Tallahassee campus. The April 30 arrests follow a wave of repression against student activists trying to raise awareness about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the banning of pro-Palestine organizations on Florida campuses. The arrested protesters face misdemeanor trespassing charges and are banned from FSU’s campus for one year. Two of the student protesters are still trying to understand how this will impact their ability to complete credits and graduate.

Students from Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) initially staged an encampment protest on April 25. The students and alumni set up near Westcott Fountain on campus, demanding the university sever its ties with entities linked to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, namely Boeing. The protest, which started at dawn, saw an initial assembly of about 60 students, with numbers fluctuating throughout the two-day demonstration. According to SDS Vice President and first-year graduate student Tavyan Dorsey, officers immediately approached the group and told them to take down the tents. The group relented and relocated to another area, setting up an encampment on Landis Green on April 30. 

“FSU PD has been just doing everything in their power to make sure that the protest is not effective,” Dorsey said. “The demands are not for the safety or the focus of students. It’s just to keep FSU administration comfortable and to keep them from getting bad publicity.”

A spokesperson for FSU said in a statement to Prism that the two enrolled students have been banned “for one calendar year and have been advised as to the parameters of their campus-related restrictions.” The university said it will continue to enforce their “content-neutral” restrictions.”  

Tallahassee SDS was originally named FSU SDS, but it was delisted following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on pro-Palestine student groups across public colleges and universities. According to Dorsey, the group received a cease and desist letter telling them to stop using FSU in their name. The group can also no longer book rooms on campus for meetings or events. 

DeSantis has taken a hardline pro-Israel position. The Republican governor declared a state of emergency in October amid the State of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, allowing the Florida Division of Emergency Management to “bring Floridians home and transport necessary supplies to Israel.” DeSantis chartered a private plane last month to bring back nearly 300 Americans from Israel. At the same time, the governor has banned Palestinian student groups from two college campuses in the state and said that the U.S. should not accept any Palestinian refugees.

Elijah Ruby, a current senior at FSU who was arrested during the campus demonstrations last month, said despite the peaceful nature of the protest, he was swiftly arrested by the FSU Police Department for trespassing. According to Ruby, he was held for about eight hours in Leon County Jail and given a trespass order barring him from campus.

“What I saw out of the first wave of these sorts of protests at Vanderbilt and Columbia and Yale was very, very inspiring, and I knew that we had to do something in Florida,” Ruby said. “We just couldn’t leave this to the elite institutions that were largely in the Northeast. We had to do this in public universities in the South as well.”

Ruby said he has faced a lack of communication from FSU regarding the implications of the trespass order on his studies and has reached out to the university’s Department of Student Conduct and Community Standards for clarity. Ruby plans to contest the charges and appeal the trespass order, emphasizing the importance of transparency and accountability from the university.

Foremost among SDS’ demands is the cessation of all university affiliations with arms manufacturer Boeing, given its role in supplying weapons used in the genocide. Additionally, SDS urges FSU to disclose any investments tied to Israel and to acknowledge the suffering and sovereignty of Palestine, a cause they argue has been sidelined by the university’s overt support of Israel. The group also demands the university end support for the birthright programs and release a statement condemning Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment on campus.

“We’re students at this university; we at least should have a say in how campus is run,” said Dorsey. “Because we make FSU what it is, right?”

The university’s actions, including delisting pro-Palestine organizations, underscore a broader pattern of political repression targeting student activists. As the organizers navigate the aftermath of the encampment and subsequent arrests, their future actions remain uncertain. Despite facing mounting pressure from university authorities, Dorsey emphasized his commitment to continuing the struggle for justice, even as they navigate the complexities of political repression.

“I know that the students of Florida State will respond to this next semester,” Ruby said, adding that “this is only going to set an example for all progressive students at Florida State, [and they] will continue to protest, petition, raise awareness, and educate among the student body on the issues of Palestine and how our university relates to it. And I know that, eventually, our demands of the university will be met.”