Students and faculty at Cal State campuses, including CSU San Marcos, are walking out of classes starting Monday morning to protest the management of the California State University system.
At 9 a.m., protesters leave classes as part of Students & Faculty Week of Action — which will feature marches, rallies, and teach-ins across the CSU campuses — to gather at Kellogg Plaza. At noon, the plaza will be the site of a peaceful demonstration.
The protesters say that student activists are being targeted while their tuition is being mismanaged. They are demanding a variety of actions, including:
Providing financial transparency and ending budget cuts and layoffs; Declaring the CSU campuses a sanctuary from Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Defending ethnic studies and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.Additionally, they will oppose the “Time, Place and Manner” policy, which limits when free speech can be practiced on campuses — which is in and of itself antithetical to the concept of free speech, students and faculty point out.
The university system disagrees.
“A `time, place and manner’ policy allows the CSU to fulfill its educational mission by helping to maintain an environment where its operations and work can be safely conducted without disruption, in accordance with the highest standards of institutional integrity, and with recognition of the rights, privileges and responsibilities of university community members and members of the public,” a statement from the CSU said.
In February, CSUSM students and faculty organized a protest to demand that Chancellor Mildred García and CSU San Marcos President Ellen Neufeldt declare the campus a sanctuary space.
Garcia was on campus to speak at the Social Mobility Symposium and due to her presence, students were barred from the University Student Union without explicit permission. Students attending class in the building were escorted by police.
CSUSM’s Student Leadership and Involvement Office cited two groups involved in the protest — Students for Justice in Palestine and Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán — with violations of student code of conduct. Others received Time, Place and Manner violation letters.
“It’s ironic that, at the bottom of the letters, it lets students know that this violation may cause them anxiety and that the administration recommends they reach out to a counselor for assistance,” said Sharon Elise, a CSUSM professor.
“That would be nice, except much of our money is going towards the militarization of our police rather than counseling.”
There will be protests at CSU Bakersfield on Monday, CSULA on Tuesday, CSU Long Beach on Wednesday, and CSU Fullerton and Sacramento on Thursday.
“Together, we are taking a stance against systemic attacks on students and faculty, so we may ensure that the CSU remain a place where education, activism, and equity matter,” a statement from the California Faculty Association read.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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