Crisis and Change: The Metamorphosis of State Violence and the Community’s Collective Response

What is state-sanctioned violence, and how is it named? This political communication panel interrogates the linguistic frameworks that define, justify, and obscure state-sanctioned violence. Panelists will place the Minneapolis incidents within a broader historical context, comparing the rhetoric of "Operation Metro Surge" to past domestic enforcement surges and global precedents. By examining the "administrative" tone used to describe human rights crises, the panel discusses practices of modern political communication and how language is used to sanitize violence for public consumption. Using social scientific and humanistic lenses, the panel asks: How does the state’s choice of words set the terms for political engagement? We investigate the role of moral argument in public life, questioning whether democratic deliberation is possible when the "grounds" for truth are fractured by conflicting institutional narratives.

Chair: Elaine Hsieh, Dept of Communication Studies

Panel: 

• Bruno Chaouat, Dept of French and Italian

• Eric Kramer, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication & Dept of Communication Studies

• Attila Halsby, Dept of Communication Studies

This panel brings together university community members to discuss the challenges of collective action, the struggle for social justice, and community resilience following the 2025–2026 ICE enforcement surge in Minneapolis. "Operation Metro Surge" transformed the city into what residents and local officials describe as a site of federal "occupation” and community resistance. From the use of corporate landmarks like Target as staging grounds to the detention of U.S. citizens based on racial profiling, these actions upended the daily lives of Minneapolitans, turning routine activities like grocery shopping or commuting into high-risk encounters. In response, communities moved away from looking to government, corporations and institutions for action toward community activism and mutual aid. This panel discusses what these actions looked like in Minneapolis, both as traditional "rituals of resistance"—ranging from neighborhood patrols in Indigenous areas to massive interfaith vigils— and as practical strategies for supporting individuals impacted. This panel seeks to answer:  What does solidarity look like in Twin Cities communities? What were the communication failures and successes of government, corporations and non-profit institutions? What did “justice-oriented communication” look like in the Twin Cities? How can we understand the possibilities and constraints of mutual aid and solidarity activities in light of federal actions?  What are the professional responsibilities of communicators? This panel will bridge the gap between professional PR ethics, corporate responsibility, and grassroots activism.

Chair: Elisia Cohen, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Panel: 

• Amy O’Connor, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

• Samantha Majhor, Dept of American Indian Studies

• Jae Yates, Tretter Collection/UMN Libraries

• Additional panelists to be announced

As Minneapolis became the flashpoint for "Operation Metro Surge," the city’s creative community shifted from observers to active participants in an unprecedented movement of resistance. The panel seeks to understand how art functions not just as decoration or commentary, but as a vital infrastructure for mutual aid, psychological resilience, and the active reclamation of public space.

Panelists:

• Paolo Debuque, School of Music

• Sumanth Gopinath, School of Music

• Beth Hartman, Dept of Writing Studies

• Jenny Schmid, Dept of Art

• Patrick Warfield, School of Music