UC Irvine Students Prepare for Protest Against Trump’s Agenda

As Donald Trump prepares to be inaugurated for his second term on January 20^th, a growing coalition of students, workers, and activists is gearing up to take to the streets in protest. However, at UC Irvine, students aren’t just planning a demonstration. They’re building a movement.

The Students for Socialism (SFS) chapter at UC Irvine is a student club created to unify people against capitalism, a system they see as oppressive and exploitative. The SFS at UC Irvine is affiliated with two chapters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL): Los Angeles, and Orange County. Together, these groups are working together to send a message to billionaires and politicians alike with a protest at Los Angeles City Hall on January 20^th—the same day that Donald Trump will be sworn in as the President of the United States.

To prepare for this protest, SFS at UC Irvine hosted an organizing meeting on January 16^th. This meeting, held at Verano Place Community Center on campus, invited students and community members to help them strategize and learn about the goals of both their organization and the upcoming protest. With more than 60 organizations participating in the demonstration, the SFS claims that they are all working together to push back against Trump’s billionaire agenda.

Lauriana Adriano, an undergraduate student and President of the SFS, kicked off the meeting at 6:00 PM that night. They emphasized that this protest was about more than just resisting Trump—it’s about fighting a system that consistently prioritizes “profits over people”.

Following Lauriana’s opening remarks, Michelle Ceballos, a graduate student and the Treasurer of the SFS at UC Irvine, took the lead for a more in-depth speech. Michelle described Trump’s upcoming administration as the continuation of policies, generally supported by both sides of the aisle, that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the workers. As much as she was critical of Donald Trump, she was equally critical of the Democratic Party, claiming that Biden and Harris have even dropped the façade of progressive reform to embrace the far right. Michelle went as far as to point to a few examples of policy areas where the Democrats have failed, such as: healthcare reform, student debt relief, and climate action. The problem? Both Republicans and Democrats have the same corporate donors. “Trump is a symptom of a much larger problem,” she said. “And that problem is a system that puts profit over people.”

After the meeting, I had the opportunity to interview Lauriana Adriano about their vision not only for the protest, but for the broader goals of SFS at UC Irvine. They explained that they didn’t see the January 20^th protest in Los Angeles as exclusively about opposing Donald Trump but as the beginning of a larger fight. “This isn’t about one day or one protest,” they said. “It’s about creating something durable—a network that can mobilize people quickly and effectively to respond to attacks on our communities.” Lauriana has a vision for the future of this organization, but measurement of this success may prove difficult. “Our success isn’t just measured in how many people show up,” they explained. “It’s about whether we can grow and sustain this movement over the long term.”

The January 20th protest, set to begin at 2:00 PM at Los Angeles City Hall, is expected to attract people from all over Southern California. According to posts from the PSL of LA, the protest will demand immediate relief for those affected by economic and social crises while challenging Trump’s agenda and the broader systems of inequality he represents.

However, for the members of SFS at UC Irvine, the protest represents more than just resistance. This protest is a chance to build momentum for an even larger movement. “This is about more than just Trump,” Lauriana told me. “This is about fighting for a society that puts people first, not profits.”