In April of 2024, there was increased activity from students, workers and community members demanding the University of Illinois divest from corporations supporting the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine. At the time, Valentina was a student leader of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America, an organization supporting the Palestinian liberation movement and involved with protests against the University administration, who to this day have refused to divest from genocide.

In response to students and their allies exercising their rights to free speech and demanding an end to aid for Israel’s slaughter, the University of Illinois collaborated with local authorities to persecute Valentina and others. Supporters of genocide on campus focused attacks on Valentina not only for her support for divestment, but because she is a trans woman. As a result, she was dismissed from UIUC and legally persecuted by the University of Illinois Police Department.

Since this attack on expression that advocates for an end to the suffering of Palestinians, Valentina has been unable to secure a regular income and is facing homelessness. Along with being unable to finish a college degree, the criminal charges have made it difficult for her to find employment in Champaign-Urbana.

We are asking for your financial support so that Valentina can have a stable place to live while looking for a job, with our goal hoping to provide rent for a few months. If anyone who is living in the Champaign-Urbana area is interested in helping out with housing resources or any other way, you can contact Niko, the organizer of this gofundme.