Re-formation In January 2006, students opposed to the Iraq invasion hoped to revive the 1960s
Students for a Democratic Society took shape. Two high school students, Jessica Rapchik and Pat Korte, decided to reach out to former members of the "Sixties" SDS, to re-establish a
student movement in the United States. Korte did this by contacting
Alan Haber. They called for a new generation of SDS, to build a radical multi-issue organization grounded in the principle of
participatory democracy. Several chapters at various colleges and high schools were subsequently formed. On
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of 2006, these chapters banded together to issue a press release that stated their intentions to recreate the national SDS organization. In the press release, new SDS called for the organization's first national convention since 1969 to be held in the summer of 2006 and to have it preceded by a series of regional conferences occurring during the Memorial Day weekend. These regional conferences would also be the first of their kind since 1969. The
Freedom Road Socialist Organization helped create new SDS, which has significant FRSO leadership and FRSO collaboration.
2000s In March 2006,
Pace University SDS protested against a speech by
Bill Clinton at the University's New York City campus, prompting the university to hand over two students, Lauren Giaccone and Brian Kelly, to the
United States Secret Service. After Pace threatened to expel the protesters, Pace SDS began a campaign that helped pressure the President of Pace to resign. From July 27–30 2007, the second SDS National Convention took place at
Wayne State University in
Detroit,
Michigan. Approximately 200 members of SDS attended what was a constitutional convention. The primary focus of the convention was to democratically create a national structure and vision for the organization. On September 22 2008, Providence SDS members took over a board meeting of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority RIPTA to protest proposed route cuts. SDS argued that the RIPTA board is detached from its riders and doesn't represent them.
2010s In March 2010, University of Houston SDS joined the March 4 National Day of Action to Defend Education, along with SDS chapters nationwide. In March 2010,
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee SDS members staged a protest outside the Chancellor's building. The event, designed to protest rising tuition costs, was met with a police presence. Police began using pepper spray, and arrested sixteen members of the protest, including both SDS members and allied organizations on campus through the Education Rights Campaign.
2020s ) In 2024, SDS chapters across the country began or participated in encampments as part of the
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. Notable encampments included those at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus, Auraria Campus in Denver, Tulane University, Florida State University, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Willamette University, and the University of South Florida. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities chapter occupied a campus library. In July and August 2024, SDS participated in marches on the
2024 Republican National Convention and the
2024 Democratic National Convention. In April 2025, SDS chapters joined protests against the Trump administration's international student visa revocations and deportations. == Conventions ==