Get Up, Stand Up!

(CSULA-UT) Tuesday, an activism collective group at CSULA called the No Cuts Coalition, organized an outdoor rally to demonstrate the frustrations, concerns, and solutions to defend what one organizer called an “attack on education”.

Wednesday afternoon at the Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach, an initiative to increase graduation rates particularly among low-income and minority students, was proposed as an effort to solve the budget dilemma.

A group nearly 20 gathered in front the Student Union at 3:00 P.M.  with a sign that read “Free Cal State LA-Education for All”. The group marched to the food court, administration plaza, between the libraries, and in front of King Hall up to the 4th floor of the building. Six officers and three University Police vehicles patrolled the activity, however no arrests were made. Protesters yelled out chants like ”Ain’t No Power like the Power of the Students, Cuz The Power of The Students Don’t Stop, Say What?”, and “They Say Fire, We Say Hire”. The protesters reminded spectators about fighting for justice in an injustice system before the rally was over in time for students to return to their 4:20PM classes.

Alberto Cardenas, history student, helped organize the rally to get more student consciousness on campus and help promote the state-wide March 4th rally downtown LA. “Students are finally feeling the pinch,” Cardenas said. “The raise of tuition has shown a lot of change, so we’re here to provide help.”