Students in the Cal State University system are fasting until the Board of Trustees agrees to reduce the cost of education and improve free-speech rights on CSU campuses.
The students involved in the strike are part of Students for Quality Education (SQE), an organization formed by CSU students to build a movement for educational rights in public higher education.
Thirteen student activists from six CSU campuses announced Friday that they would be going on a hunger strike beginning May 2. The activists said the strike is expected to last until the BOT accepts their demands.
The activists and their supporters will be at the BOT meeting on May 9 to address their concerns again.
On April 27, members of SQE officially announced the hunger strike during a teleconference.
According to the speakers, their proposal had been made on March 20, and April 27 was the last day for the BOT to reply. The activists participating in the strike are from campuses in San Bernardino, Fullerton, Northridge, Long Beach, Dominguez Hills and Sacramento.
“For the last decade, CSU students have fought back against budget cuts to education, and we’ve tried just about everything you could think of to prevent the dismantling of our public university system,” said Donnie Bessom, a graduate student from Cal State Long Beach.
Some demands include a five-year freeze on tuition fee increases, the elimination of the car and housing allowances for presidents of all 23 campuses, and no more cuts to classes and student services.
They specified that, if cuts are to be made, they must be made by reducing administrative and executive salaries back to their 1999 levels.
In addition, SQE also wants free speech areas on campuses to include the entire campus, stating that universities should be a safe space to express ideas without intimidation by campus police and administration.
CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis said students from SQE have been heard, and they have had their opportunity to express their concerns with the BOT. Fallis also said it’s important for students to have a voice and to express their concerns, but students should not do anything that puts themselves at risk.
Fallis said that all of the demands made by SQE are subject to review, but there are certain things that the CSU system doesn’t control, such as state funding support. He also said that the CSU board has to be realistic of what the CSU’s policy options are and that the policies can change if the state were to make a funding cut to the system.
Some students agree with the intentions of the activists, but don’t think a hunger strike is a realistic way to solve the problem.
Kevin Calenzani, a freshman journalism and Spanish major, said he doesn’t think the hunger strike will be effective. He said he likes the idea, but doesn’t think their demands will be met.
However, freshman environmental engineering major Andrew Kao said the group’s demands are reasonable.
“I’m not too sure that the administration will respond to a hunger strike, per se,” he said.