Nearly 1,000 students marched through the Cal State Long Beach campus Thursday morning holding signs, Palestinian flags and a list of demands for the university.
Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) students are the latest in a growing number of demonstrations at universities and colleges throughout the nation protesting for peace in Palestine and demanding their schools disclose full financial investments and divest from companies that profit from Israel and the military occupation of Palestine.
Students, faculty and community members met at the main quad then marched through parts of the campus around 11 a.m. The rally settled in front of Brotman Hall Plaza, where hundreds of students sat and declared the space an autonomous zone.
Professors and community members spoke to the crowd through scheduled teach-ins and workshops while students used chalk to write messages that university administrators could see from their windows in Brotman Hall.
Organizers said they would remain in the plaza until 7 p.m., making banners and kites, praying, chanting and reading poetry. Around noon a small group of half a dozen counter-protesters began waving Israeli flags outside of the barricade of the “liberated zone.”
One female student who did not want to be identified got into a shouting match with students who were erecting a barricade on the north entrance of the plaza that was stopping her from getting to class on time, but left without incident.
Hours earlier, hundreds of students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were arrested after a week of camping at the university and facing attacks from counter-protestors. Protests on American college campuses have rapidly spread throughout the country since students were arrested at Columbia University two weeks ago.
Since then, over 2,000 students have been arrested at pro-Palestine protests, according to CNN. According to CSULB’s student newspaper the Daily 49er, campus police have not contacted the Long Beach Police Department in regards to the current protest, and a representative for the university stated that “As with any event, the safety of both the participants and the broader campus community is very much top of mind.”
Among the student protesters’ demands was that the university divest from three corporations: Boeing, Raytheon (now known as RTX) and Northrop Grumman. All three companies provide aircrafts and weapons to the Israeli military, according to the American Friends Service Committee.
According to CSULB’s website, Boeing has provided support for educational initiatives, labs, simulators and scholarships at CSULB. Northrop Grumman has invested in faculty research and student organizations, and sponsors the College of Engineering Veterans Resource Center at CSULB.
The same site also states that Boeing and Northrop Grumman are represented on multiple decision-making boards at CSULB, including the College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council.
Cal State Long Beach confirmed with the Long Beach Press-Telegram in 2017 that the CSULB 49er Foundation has investments in Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.
This is not the first time students at CSULB have called for the university to divest from these companies. In 2017 the student government adopted a resolution calling on the school to end any investments in military contractors that supply weapons to Israel.
CSULB President Jane Close Conoley sent a statement to all students and faculty at 12:30 p.m.:
“It is right to speak out against injustice. It’s right to be on the side of peace. We should all be focused on the human experience of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel – the plight of the October 7 victims and their families, the ongoing trauma suffered by hostages, and the horror of the bombings in Gaza.
It is, however, hateful and wrong for anyone on this campus to target Jewish students, faculty members, or staff. The recent appearance of posters featuring pictures of Hillel members is particularly heinous. Posting pictures of our students crosses a line into threatening behavior that wreaks of antisemitism.”
Read the full statement from CSULB President Jane Close Conoley here.
Subject: Manifesting Peace In Our Actions
Dear OneBeach Community,
It is right to speak out against injustice. It’s right to be on the side of peace. We should all be focused on the human experience of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel – the plight of the October 7 victims and their families, the ongoing trauma suffered by hostages, and the horror of the bombings in Gaza.
It is, however, hateful and wrong for anyone on this campus to target Jewish students, faculty members, or staff. The recent appearance of posters featuring pictures of Hillel members is particularly heinous. Posting pictures of our students crosses a line into threatening behavior that wreaks of antisemitism.
Such posters do not represent an anti-war sentiment, which likely would rally support from many groups, but rather a cold indifference to Hillel members’ sense of belonging and security at The Beach. My experience is that the great majority of our community members, whatever their political perspectives are, condemn harassment and intimidation of any group or individual.
The “Declaration Toward a Global Ethic” from the Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993) proclaimed the Golden Rule, “We must treat others as we wish others to treat us,” as the common principle for many religions. I ask those responsible for these defamatory postings to reflect on this Golden Rule before implementing more actions likely to promote divisiveness and provoke violence. If you demonstrate for peace, also manifest peace in your actions.
Jane Close Conoley, Ph.D.
President
Multiple faculty members were at the rally and supportive of the student’s demands. Some have formed the Faculty for Justice in Palestine at CSULB and released a statement in support: “We write as CSULB faculty members to express our unequivocal support of, and abiding solidarity with, CSULB students and students globally who raise their collective voice to protest the Israeli genocide of Palestinians and the ongoing U.S.-sponsored project of settler colonial violence in Palestine.”
The university sent out three alerts to students through its mass communication system, CSULB BeachAlert:
11:49 a.m.: “There is protest activity occurring in the area of Brotman Hall. Avoid area until further notice. Updates to follow.”
12:22 p.m.: “Protest activity continues in and around Brotman Hall. Avoid the area if possible or use caution as some walkways may be inaccessible.”
1:06 p.m.: Be advised protest activity near Brotman Hall may continue into the evening. Continue to use caution if you are in the area.”
