By Jackie Pena
Editor’s note: This article expresses the opinion of the writer and does not represent the Long Beach Current.
As humans, we are born with the instinct to speak up for what we believe in.
We protest to protect these rights as American citizens and as activists who are fighting for a better tomorrow.
UC San Diego students protested a few weeks ago amid mass deportation by gathering in large quantities to advocate for their rights.
On Feb. 19, students and faculty at UCSD shared a collective fear over the recent executive orders made by the Trump administration.
Columbia University attempted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a student activist, for taking part in a protest to support Palestinians. He was a permanent citizen of the United States.
UCSD faculty and students told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “attempts to deport student activists and assert control over academic programs, mark the start of a broader erosion of civil and human rights.”
As a Hispanic-American daughter whose parents immigrated here from their respective countries, I am distraught for my parents and my future.
With financial aid being taken away and rising tuition, the pressure of being in college has increased.
Our small town is always overshadowed by its more well-known city counterparts, yet ICE was still in our neighborhoods.
Adam Aron, a psychology professor at UC San Diego, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that, “This is what fascist regimes do, and it’s kind of a code red for our universities. This is maybe the beginning if we don’t stand up and oppose this.”
Similarly, protests regarding Palestine and Gaza took place at Long Beach State near the Walter Pyramid a few months ago.
Unlike Columbia, Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley replied, “It is right to speak out against injustice. It’s right to be on the side of peace,” according to the Signal Tribune.
To be shamed for speaking out against injustices is a form of dehumanization. It convinces the students that a push for change is pointless.
As a student at CSULB, I am forever grateful to attend a university that not only advocates for my rights but stands alongside me and thousands of other students who continue to fight to preserve our freedom of speech.
On the contrary, UCSD faculty and students fear that Khalil’s arrest and the restrictions implemented last year concerning how campus protests should be conducted have amalgamated together to “build a climate of fear and chilled free speech on campus,” the Union-Tribune said.
Many students at UCSD shared their frustration with the university’s lack of action and support towards undocumented students, especially during the increase in deportation cases nationwide.
For some, the protest was personal. Families are being separated, they are being stripped away from their neighborhoods and communities.
As the daughter of a father who spent two months traveling from Peru to California to give his children a better future and who earned his citizenship over time, it hurts to know that he and many other families are at risk.
Student voices can be crucial in challenging societal norms – this proves that youth activism can lead to systemic change.
To be free is to express ourselves in many ways other than our voices. Whether it be through art, writing, innovation, etc.
As college students and as human beings, we all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of our happiness. I urge CSULB students to exercise our collective right.
