DESANTISLAND
Inside Solidarity, a socialist-anarchist student organization at FAU
From University Press, Florida Atlantic University student run news
Formed in 2020, this student organization says community is its main goal.
by Sage West, Copy Desk Chief
October 14, 2024
Room 113 of Florida Atlantic University’s education building is home to more than just college courses. By day, it is your traditional classroom, but every Tuesday night from 6 to 8 p.m., it becomes Solidarity meeting grounds.
Solidarity is a self-proclaimed “socialist and anarchist organization” at FAU that meets weekly to engage in group discussion and political activism. According to the organization’s Instagram, Solidarity aims to “build socialism and anarchy through direct action, mutual aid and education at FAU.”
“Socialism is the establishment of an economy that is based on cooperative ownership and need-driven, rather than private ownership and profit-driven, and anarchy is the abolition of power and people’s domination over people and the planet,” Ximena Dipietro, former Solidarity co-delegate said.
Dipietro shared that Solidarity promotes these ideas through discussion, reading socialist and anarchist texts, and their unique organization model, which emphasizes member participation.
The organization is currently orchestrated by lead organizer and anthropology major James Morgan and three others. It also consists of 20 to 30 members, who Solidarity classifies as anyone who has attended two or more general meetings.
Solidarity said in a presentation on Sept. 3 that they are against all hierarchical relationships between people — which is a structure dynamic in which one person possesses more power than another — and emphasize group involvement, placing no one position higher than another. They also hold intersectional, queer, feminist and anti-racist ideals at the foundation of their organization, demonstrated through the many diverse mutual aid efforts hosted by the group.
“Our structure is one really built on the idea that there are no leaders; as a club, we have abandoned formal ways of defining leadership, where we don’t have presidents or secretaries but rather just general ‘lead organizers’ who are just people that tend to do more,” Morgan said.
The group’s first meeting of the fall 2024 semester took place on Sept. 3. However, the organization was founded in January 2020. In their first Instagram post, Solidarity stated its goal is to “positively affect our surrounding communities through direct and collective action.”
“Solidarity practices socialism and anarchy in many ways in both its structure and its outward actions,” Morgan said. “As for outward stuff, solidarity is truly trying [to] do mutual aid, which is a vital part to any anarchist group, and is actively connecting FAU students to a wider network of mutual aid groups of socialists, communists and anarchists across South Florida.”
Morgan personally noted that a major goal of the organization is to create what he called a “safe space.”
“I feel like we hold the position of almost a safe place in some way, where people can have community, where we can build these social networks and build these safety networks,” he said.
The word “community” is something repeatedly heard in the groups’ meetings — another concept that lives at the root of their organization. The group defines this as “a main draw bringing the group members together… each with a shared goal to make the world a better place.”
Solidarity leads shared during their introductory meeting that each week’s meeting consists of presentations, skill workshops, social events, potlucks, game nights and more.
“To be an anarchist or a socialist or a communist is to be creative… We aren’t some crazy edgy people trying to be different and smash windows. We are all smart and talented people who are all extremely diverse, in both thought and action,” Morgan said.
The workshops, along with many other initiatives the group works on aim to provide the community — FAU and broader — with access to resources, tools and food. Some of the workshops consist of music classes, art classes and sewing.
“The workshops are a new thing that we’re implementing this year… The first workshop I will be hosting. I will be bringing in instruments, my personal instruments: guitars, pianos, whatever I can find, ukuleles, and it’ll just be a free access opportunity to instruments and paints because those things cost money,” said Jimena Machorro Swain, FAU special education major and one of Solidarity’s lead organizers elected in the spring.
“We really believe in allowing access to whatever you want to do; if you want to unlock a new skill, if you want to do something outside of your comfort zone, we want to provide the tools for that… It’s serving the community, and the community is serving us,” Machorro Swain added.
Morgan also shared the importance of ownership and mutual aid, a driving force for many of the group’s initiatives.
“Our clothing drives and swaps, we always tend to do, which are always free, as are all of the stuff we do other than every now and then book sales. The hope with any mutual aid is that it builds a wider culture to create counter-power structures,” Morgan said.
The group recently announced a clothing and toiletries donation drive in an effort to help those affected by Hurricane Helene. The drive took place on Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
At the start of a typical meeting, students are greeted at the door by diverse faces, welcoming in members and curious students alike. Inside, a group of 20 to 30 gather in discussion.
“Welcome, are you here for Solidarity?” members repeatedly echo at the entrance as the clock approaches 6 p.m.
At the front of the room is a table laden with a small but extensive library of political and historical text, each surrounding socialist, anarchist and Marxist teachings. Termed “the traveling library,” the books are transported to various event grounds and are available for members to check out. “War and Peace,” “How Fascism Works” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” are just a few of the library’s titles. Others, the works of Malcolm X and Karl Marx.
With a bright red bandana atop his head, Morgan introduced the meeting after a quirky set of icebreakers shared between members. He began with a PowerPoint in bold white letters that read “Introduction of Socialism and Solidarity.”
However, Morgan shared that the organization has not always been widely welcomed by everyone on campus.
On May 15, Solidarity hosted a vigil-style protest in support of Palestine to “protest the genocide against Palestinian people and FAU’s complicity” and to “show solidarity with other college protests which has faced excessive police suppression and brutality,” according to a May 14 Solidarity Instagram post. However, Solidarity protesters reported being greeted by masses of various law enforcement upon their arrival on campus.
“Not even 24 hours in, the university immediately knew, sent us a message of what rules we had to go through… they called a mobile command unit, an armored truck, men with assault rifles and stuff like that, army green uniforms… checkpoints everywhere, cops taking pictures of every single thing for just 20 people,” Morgan said.
They also reported getting backlash from opposing political groups on campus.
“The only groups that have really come out against us in some way is conservative groups on campus, whether it’s College Republicans or TP [Turning Point] USA… they do debate us now and then [when we’re] tabling,” Morgan added.
However, prospective member and FAU multimedia journalism freshman Sarah Satchel noted that witnessing Solidarity’s social activism is what moved her to join.
“I was very intrigued by the protest stuff they do, and the community outreach programs. I would like to implement some of those in my own hometown, specifically for the homeless people,” she said. “I’m excited to do more here; learn more from other people.”
Since its creation, Solidarity has held several protests both on FAU’s campus and off campus. They have hosted rallies advocating for education equity, against medical restrictions for transgender youth and, more recently, the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in South Florida.
The group has also marched alongside other campus organizations and advocacy groups such as Owls Demand Action, a student-run organization aiming to stop gun violence, FAU Action Coalition, a student organization in defense of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.), and BLISSS, an organization for Black, Indigenous and People of Color and LGBTQ+ students on campus.
“Sadly, anarchism and socialism are genuinely such misunderstood terms here in America. It’s very tragic because these assumptions become more than just that—they genuinely become stigmas,” Morgan said.
Morgan remains hopeful that student engagement and discussion can create deeper understanding from those with questions about Solidarity’s mission.
“I think people hear about the socialist/communist club at FAU and think we’re rabid dogmatic militants, the truth is that solidarity is a very opening and welcoming place to those willing to genuinely hear us out,” Dipietro said.
The group says they remain open to discussion with a formal criticism policy, should anyone take issue with their organization, and continue to meet in hopes of providing a sense of community for their members.
“I mean we can work as hard as we want to to try to change our future, but if we don’t enjoy what we’re doing and if we don’t find a reason to fight for what we believe in, which is each other, and building a better world hopefully, then what is it for?” said Machorro Swain.
Sage West is the Copy Desk Chief for the University Press. For more information regarding this story, email her at wests2020@fau.edu.
