Protesters have pro-immigrant message to pro-deportation panelists

One demonstrator explains why New College students’ involvement seems sparse.

By Johannes Werner

Original Air Date: March 21, 2025

Host: While the three panelists inside the New College auditorium were in line over their ideas on immigration, dissent was expressed outside the venue. The WSLR news team was there.

Johannes Werner: Some 300 protesters lined up along both sides of Bay Shore Road to greet motorcades and the three politicos inside with cries of “shame” and chants. They were separated from Sainer Pavilion by two police cordons—one made up by Sarasota Police Department officers outside the Sainer Pavilion compound and one of state troopers inside. The protesters were loud, sometimes vulgar, but they remained on the public sidewalks throughout more than three hours of action. There was no police intervention.

“Synonym for cruelty: Homan.”

There were two large Palestinian flags. Speakers, from a half-dozen groups supporting the protest, talked about jailing and deportation of activists, about volunteering to help refugees, and about the economic contributions of immigrants.

One of the speakers was Traci Lipton, who works as a waitress in Sarasota. She has a gripe with government officials painting immigrants as criminals. She detailed three recent, much-reported crimes in this area. None of them were committed by immigrants.

Traci Lipton: I want to make a point: None of them were black or brown, none of them were drag queens, none of them were in the LGBT community, and none of them were immigrants. Take note, Florida. Thank you for being here.

[Crowd cheers]

JW: Largely absent at the protest were current New College students, with the exception of maybe a dozen among the hundreds of protesters.

Inside, the panelists expressed a desire for Congress to codify executive orders.

Sebastian Girtl, wearing a blue suit with a Republican Party pin, was looking at the protesters from the margins after coming out of the auditorium. Girtl, a recent high school graduate who now chairs the Young Republicans Sarasota-Manatee, liked what Homan, DeSantis and Wolf had to say about immigration. Asked about the lack of controversial discussion on this “Socratic Stage” panel, he did not think that was a problem.

Sebastian Girtl: I think in this scenario, I think it was much more just an open discussion about the issues. I’ve been to a couple other of these Socratic Stages, and you’ve had times where they really butt heads and times where they just have a roving conversation on the topic. In this one, the three people were much more aligned on policy, and so you had more of a growing discussion.

FV: We asked him to comment about New College students saying they are scared to speak out publicly.

SG: I think I saw some people who were students. I’m not sure how many, But I know for a fact that there were some students in the audience.

FV: Asked about how some New College students think this was not their event, Girtl said this:

SG: I’m positive that the students, if they were to be more interested, they’d be more than happy to [accommodate them], but typically the only time they are involved is when they’re protesting outside and yelling insults at their very own college president. Maybe if they were more involved in more constructive ways instead of just trying to dismantle, then perhaps they’d be more involved in that.

FV: Galen Anderson is a New College student. Also wearing a blue suit, tie and dress shoes, he was in the auditorium to listen to the speakers and absorb the atmosphere. We caught up with him at the protest afterwards, carrying a yellow sign that said “The People will defeat Trump’s billionaire agenda.” Why did he join the protest?

Galen Anderson

Galen Anderson: I’ve watched people around me cry, and I’ve watched them sob. I watched them have their families split apart, and I don’t want that to happen. I saw somebody lose their baby, and I don’t want that person to lose their baby. That is why I’m here. We’re talking about people being deported for no reason—people who have been working hard, people who do not deserve to be deported. Not that you can deserve to be deported.

FV: What was his impression of the event?

GA: I see two sides. Obviously it’s more nuanced than that, but. You have the side that has gotten off work, maybe at a convenience store. They might be an immigrant; they might not be. They are coming to this protest. And on the inside, I see people talking about how they’re afraid of people coming to take their jobs.

FV: Asked about what he thought of his fellow students being scared of questioning the Homeland Security Secretary or governor over their immigration policies, or of protesting outside, Anderson said he’s concerned about students being scared of speaking their mind.

GA: It’s important to be conscious about that type of thing. There are previous students who have been expelled from New College for their actions during protests, for saying things on record. But I would say this: If that had not happened—if they had not expelled students before—this fear would not exist. Now, whether or not it’s okay to expel students from a university just because they say things that are disparaging of authorities—whether ot not it’s okay to expel students for their actions in a protest is not what I want to talk about. It’s fear, though. Fear is the reason why they’re not coming. Fear is the reason why they won’t talk on record. It’s imposed fear. It’s on purpose.

Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.

WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.