By Cowbells and bull horns rang across campus Thursday morning as the California Faculty Association and its allies protested a wide range of topics, including solidarity with the international students whose visas had been revoked across the CSU.
April 17 marks National Day of Action in Higher Education, prompting the CFA to organize and speak out against federal and local attacks on higher education.
Children were present at the rally blowing a horn while marching toward Brotman Hall. The California Faculty Association held a march and rally with students about immigration safety and free speech on April 17. Photo credit: Justin Enriquez
For many in attendance, the recent news of international student visas being revoked, including six students at CSULB, was at the forefront.
“Hearing about students getting their visas revoked, that’s unconscionable,”Neil Hultgren, Academic Senate Chair and professor in the English department, said. “It makes it impossible for them to learn and succeed. Faculty needs to signal that’s not okay.”
Hultgren was in attendance during the Academic Senate meeting, where Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley confirmed six student visas had been terminated.
Hultgren described hearing the news as “awful” and “concerning.”
Currently, 70 students across the CSU have had their visas terminated, according to CSU officials.
Melissa Hidalgo, CFA member and lecturer in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, said that the matter of student visas is a key issue for the union.
“We’re here to protest the cuts to our campus and the larger national threat to public education in the form of terrorizing international students,” Hidalgo said. “The energy is somber. But it’s building. As overworked as we are, as tired as we are, this is exactly the moment we have to rally.”
With Friendship Walk closed, protestors convened in the upper quad at 11 a.m. and marched across the edge of campus near the Liberal Arts buildings.
The crowd rallied at Brotman Hall, where two CFA tents were set up and stocked with water, snacks and informational pamphlets.
Members of the California Faculty Association and other protestors chanted in front of Brotman Hall about issues ranging from budget cuts, Palestine and the safety of undocumented students on campus at the rally on April 17. Photo credit: Justin Enriquez
For Nancy Martin, a CFA member since 2007 and a faculty member in the Sociology Department, the demonstration was an act of solidarity with the larger CSULB community.
“The attacks on universities by the Trump administration, attempting to silence free speech, threaten and intimidate by revoking student visas— I find all of that deeply disturbing,” Martin said.
Many of the protestors emphasized the need for faculty to stand with the student body, equating work conditions with student learning conditions.
“Your faculty are here for you. We’re in solidarity when you all are resisting and agitating, we are here for you,” Hidalgo said.
Members of the California Faculty Association gathered around their protest posters in the upper quad at the campus rally on April 17 where they marched in support of students, immigration safety and free speech. Photo credit: Justin Enriquez
