Students Protest NFL Draft in Chicago

"Roosevelt University is using scarce resources to subsidize NFL profits by hosting its draft free of charge," student says

Not everyone is excited about Chicago's hosting of the 2015 NFL Draft.

About 125 people rallied in the South Loop on Thursday evening to protest what they call the "prioritization of corporate greed over students’ needs."

"Instead of fulfilling its social justice mission to educate working class students, students of color students (sic), and non traditional students, Roosevelt University is using scarce resources to subsidize NFL profits by hosting its draft free of charge,” second year student Lupita Carrasquillo said in a statement.

Students from the school’s RISE campaign gathered at about 6:30 p.m. at the southeast corner of Congress and Wabash, just 30 minutes before the first round of the draft began.

The event marks the first time in 51 years that the draft isn’t being held in New York.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel relentlessly lobbied the NFL to relocate the event, then invested some of his own political capital to make sure things run smoothly. 

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