SDS holds protest for international students

The MSU community received an email from the Office of the President on April 11 stating that three international students had their F-1 visa statuses revoked by the Department of Homeland Security. Nationwide, 32 states have seen such revocations as of April 9, according to NBC.

The situation at MSU has sparked discourse among the community and prompted action by MSU’s chapter of Students for Democratic Society (SDS), an organization dedicated to streamlining the process of civil engagement for students, according to senior Julian Staggs. Staggs founded the MSU chapter at the beginning of the 2025 spring semester after being contacted by the national SDS organization.

“We just started up as a chapter and this is the first thing we're taking on,” Staggs said. “In some part, everyone's vaguely aware of the issues, but they don't know what they can do, how they can get organized. [SDS at MSU] seeks to change that.”

Freshman Marcus Barry said that the idea for a protest formed when he shared the University’s April 11 email with members of the chapter. Two days later, at their Sunday meeting, the organization began planning an on-campus protest for the following Friday. On April 18, students and community members gathered and marched from the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse to Montana Hall.

Over 100 people attended the event. Some carried signs signaling their support for international students on campus. Additionally, members of various advocacy groups such as Montana For Palestine, Indivisible Bozeman and the Bozeman Tenants United joined the protest.

After the march from the Fieldhouse, Stagg gave a speech in front of Montana Hall. “The Trump administration has shown a willingness to violate court orders, explicitly,” he said. “There is a risk of more visa revocations to follow as we have continued to see more across the country.”

Attendees David and Sue Ritchie — who have lived in Bozeman for 26 years — expressed their disapproval of the Trump administration’s treatment of international students and immigrants.

“I don't know that people voted for this. He said he wanted to remove the criminal immigrants from our country. He's going so far beyond that,” David said. “Once you let them start picking away at the outliers of the crowd, pretty soon they're going to come after the crowd.”

“It's just a shame to see what's going on with the country,” Sue said. “These students should be protected. All immigrants should be protected in the home of the brave and free.”

In an interview with the Exponent, Barry cited a March 27 press conference in Guyana, where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio answered questions regarding visa revocations.

“The language that Marco Rubio has been using — describing international students as lunatics for causing a ruckus — that language is so incredibly dangerous,” Barry said. “I don't believe we should have a government saying that, and we should support the students that it's being said about.”

In addition to the protest, SDS drafted a petition calling on MSU to become a “sanctuary campus.” According to the petition, designating MSU as a “sanctuary campus” would prohibit ICE officials from being on campus without a warrant and instruct University police to refrain from enforcing immigration law.

The petition also encourages MSU to provide tuition support — including in-state tuition rates — to students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. It further insists that the University offer distance-learning options for deported students to complete their degrees, among other demands, according to the petition.

“I want MSU to stand up for international students — especially in this time of need — because nothing seems to be solidified anymore in our government,” Barry said.

At the protest, freshman and SDS member Elizabeth Barrott collected signatures for the petition and handed out informational flyers about SDS. She emphasized the importance of U.S. citizens engaging with democracy and speaking up on behalf of international students.

“I think, unfortunately, I would be hesitant to tell international students to be involved [in protesting], because it's so scary seeing — I would call them — kidnappings of students who speak their mind on campuses who are practicing their First Amendment,” Barrott said. “So we hope to just show support for them and they don't need to be here because we want to prioritize their safety first."

Stagg outlined the importance of MSU’s commitment to the student body and its role in maintaining a safe environment for all students.

“The administration needs to be forward with what it's going to do and how it's going to support the student body,” Stagg said. “That's why we want the administration to actually take specific policies to do it. Simply just stating [that] it happened isn't good enough. They need to take very specific actions and that's why we're raising this demand about being a sanctuary campus.”

To learn more about SDS, visit its Instagram @sdsmontanastate or email montanastatesds@gmail.com.