By In front of Fine Arts 4, members of La F.U.E.R.Z.A installed posters and signs with names and photos of the 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College students who were victims of an organized state crime on Sept. 26. This year marks 10 years since the disappearance of the students.
On Sept. 26, 2014, 43 college students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College disappeared at the fault of a local drug gang in cooperation with Mexican authorities.
Emily Barrera, treasurer of the student activist organization La F.U.E.R.Z.A, said all 43 students had disappeared at the hands of the Mexican government.
The students were on their way to a protest when municipal police intercepted their bus.
“Today marks the 10-year anniversary, and their parents are relentless and their students from that college are also relentless in trying to find them and trying to get answers. There’s been really, like, a lot of false reports going around, a lot of rumors, a lot of truths and no leads,” Barrera said.
La F.U.E.R.Z.A placed photographs of all the 43 missing students around a tree in front of Fine Arts 4. Initially, Students were drawn to visit the site, but the crowd slowly fizzled out afterward. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
During the time of Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency from 2012 to 2018, his administration claimed a local drug gang had abducted and killed the students, later burning their bodies and tossing away their ashes. This claim was later proven to be a lie built on false statements.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ended his term in September 2024 but did not leave without first promising to find those accountable for the disappearance of the students.
The investigation faced countless delays from his administration, prompting López Obrador to shift more power and responsibility to the military for the investigation.
The prosecutor leading the case resigned after the attorney general’s office received backlash for canceling arrest orders for several suspects without proper explanation.
A closeup of José Ángel Campos Cantor, one of the 43 students who disappeared in Mexico on September 26, 2014. José Ángel was 33 years old on the day of his disappearance, leaving two young daughters behind. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
On Sept. 26, 10 years after the incident, family members of the victims expressed their disappointment in López Obrador’s administration’s handling of the case.
No further answers on the whereabouts of the students have been found.
“These parents have looked through all the forests and the jungles, walking miles and miles, trying to scavenge for their students, because some of them thought that they were dead, and some of them believe that they’re still alive,” Barrera said. “And that’s like one big quote, ‘You took them alive. We want them alive.’ So vivos los queremos.”
A picture of Liliosa Hilao is displayed on an unlit candle, along with the photos of the 43 missing students. Hilao was a student activist and journalist who was taken as a political prisoner during Martial Law and left to die. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Barrera said the La F.U.E.R.Z.A memorial is held annually on the Long Beach State campus. However, this year, the memorial had to follow new adjustments.
“We couldn’t use any sound for this display, even though we wanted to. In years past, we have said the student’s names and spoke them out loud. We have done it in LA-5, but this year, I have to go through [Student, Life, and Development] and actually reserve the tree. Can you believe that I have to reserve a tree to use my First Amendment rights to talk about this issue?” Barrera said.
Barrera said the memorial usually occurred near the Liberal Arts 5 and Faculty Office 3 buildings. The Time, Place and Manner policies now state the area in front of the building is limited to host the event.
Jeff Klaus, associate vice president of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, said setting up an event like this would require meeting with a Student, Life and Development advisor and the Campus Events Office.
The SLD advisor would then work with the student organization to achieve their event objective while staying within the school’s parameters.
“Our job is to figure out how to work with students to say yes to the things that they want to do. I mean, we’re in the business of creating a vibrant student life on our campus,” Klaus said.
Klaus explained how the university’s TPM policies have affected student events on campus.
“I think you’re going to continue to see exactly what you’ve always seen on this campus. The changes are very, very minor. The difference is just that the system now has a system-wide policy, which was required by a legislative mandate,” Klaus said.
Klaus referred to Senate Bill 108 from the Budget Act of 2024, in which the TPM policy is mentioned and has to be disclosed to students on every campus.
“Every campus has always had a time, place and manner policy. That’s why when I say there’s not a lot of changes, it’s because we already had one. It’s just now there’s a [California State University] system one, and then [with] the campus addendum… there’s certain areas that are public and open for folks to do certain activities. Some are [of] limited public use,” Klaus said.
