…Draws Ire From UIC Students
By Ken Hare
Chicago Defender Staff Writer
The upcoming Trump rally at UIC Pavillion this Friday has drawn the ire of two UIC students, local activist and protesters.
Second-year nursing student Casandra Robledo and second-year pre-med student Juan Rojas took offense to the planned rally and started a social media campaign on Facebook to protest the event. Initially just passing the information around to their friends, word got out and soon organizers and protesters across the city pledged to support their efforts.
Soon, an online petition was started at Moveon.org which sought to have the Trump rally cancelled arguing the rally “has no place in Chicago but especially not at an institution of higher learning.”
As of today, the petition has garnered over 44,000 signatures towards its goal of 50,000. The petition claims that students, youth and people of color have being violently attacked by Trump supporters due to his racist views. The organizers of the planned protest have stated that they have received over 1,600 RSVPs from activist and regular people who want to join the peaceful protest and voice their opposition to Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
The GOP presidential hopeful will speak at the free rally Friday at the UIC Pavillion, according to his campaign website. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., doors open at 3 p.m. Registration through Trump’s website is required to attend the rally at the Pavillion.
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