On February 1, 2016, on the anniversary of the Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-ins on February 1, 1960, more than 90 students from 12 universities across the United States staged simultaneous sit-ins at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State University in protest of the modern segregation of undocumented students under Georgia Board of Regents Policies 4.1.6 and 4.3.4. Highlights from the event included a special musical performance by the Freedom University Singers, who were joined by the original SNCC Freedom Singers Rutha and Emory Harris, in singing “Oh Freedom” with lyrics to honor both the Black Freedom Movement and the Immigrant Rights Movement.

Obituary for Bento Box Soltis

May 24, 2007 - November 21, 2025

There are dogs who join a family, and then there are dogs who alter the gravitational pull of an entire community. Bento was the latter.

In 2014, Bento became Freedom University’s unofficial Ambassador of Love and Minister of Education. In this dual role, he spent thirty semesters comforting students who buried their faces in his soft fur, thirty semesters sitting through my human rights lectures with the patience of a furry saint, thirty semesters as our quiet elder who never missed a class. He adored the students in my care, and with each semester, the village he vowed to love and protect would grow.