At 4:29 p.m., protesters demanding revolution in Iran began chanting in Chess Plaza. The event drew a peaceful yet large crowd of about 80 members at its peak.
Organized by the Iranian Student Community and the Dallas Persian Association at UTD, students chanted “freedom in Iran,” “regime change in Iran,” “human rights for Iran,” “death to Khamenei” and “one solution: revolution.”
The UTD protest comes after two weeks of protests in Iran and an internet blackout. In a speech last Thursday, Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said thousands had been killed in the country’s protests and that he placed the blame on the U.S. UTD students and community members were disillusioned by Khamenei’s governance.
“Death to Khamenei,” an anonymous protester said. “We say death to Khamenei because we mean it. In the past few weeks, a lot of people came to protest and the Islamic Republic, as usual, began killing people.”
Computer science Ph.D. student Ali Riahi spoke through a microphone for about 30 minutes at the event. For Riahi, the protest is a necessary service to family members still remaining in Iran, whom he cannot communicate with as a result of the Internet blackout in place since Jan. 8.
“Student life is hard by itself,” Riahi said. “Worrying about your family, knowing that there are thousands of people dying, is a really hard situation that we are living through these days. It’s a traumatic situation.”
Several individuals at the public protest were unwilling to speak on the record to The Retrograde, citing concerns it could impact their visa status. Nationwide, international students have said they are afraid to express their political opinions, especially following the Department of State’s announcement that it would screen social media accounts during the visa application process.
“For security purposes, because people are on F-1 visas, they cannot talk,” alum Kian Hakim said. “People are just tired of the economic struggles and unfair practices and unfair laws and the lack of freedom, so they try to peacefully come to the streets.”
Organizers centered the event around educating community members about Iran’s ongoing upheaval. Chants were interwoven with anecdotes about individuals that had been killed in Iran throughout the Women, Freedom, Life movement. For graduate student Benjamin Broom, the education was vital, especially given today was his first day on campus.
“I’m from Waco and haven’t gotten to experience this before,” Broom said. “There’s a lot of people here who are more educated than me but this is really informative. I want to know about the atrocities of the world.”
No police were spotted at the Chess Plaza throughout the protest, a stark departure to protests last semester which had UTDPD officers present. Former UTD President Richard Benson said previous protesters were arrested for causing disruptions to campus life, something observers said was not present at today’s event.
“This is not at all disruptive. I mean, you could easily drive right through here,” Broom said, gesturing to the middle of Chess Plaza, “Or go around. It’s peaceful.”
At 6:07 p.m., the event concluded with light applause. Organizers shared QR codes and encouraged people to publicize Iranian suffering online.
“We want change,” an anonymous protester said. “That’s it.”
