Students rallied to walk out onto the University Lawn with the Students Organizing Against Repression Coalition (SOAR), Anakbayan Northridge, M.E.Ch.A de CSUN, Students for Justice in Palestine and others to voice their frustrations with CSUN’s compliance with ICE.
Chicano Studies Department Chair Rosa Rivera Furumoto and organization representatives gave speeches before the marchers began their march from the University Lawn to Jacaranda Walk and back around.
As speeches progressed, students hugged one another and joined in with their own chants. Others wiped away tears from their faces from the moving words said by their peers.
From the sidelines of the University Lawn and Matador Walk, people watched the crowd chant in unison as members of the SOAR Coalition led them. They chanted, “818 don’t back down!” and “We will not be erased!” amongst other chants as they marched.
The SOAR Coalition was formed at the beginning of the Spring 2025 semester, aiming to “show that the issues affecting us at CSUN are not isolated issues,” said Edel Evangelista, chair of Anakbayan Northridge and a SOAR Coalition member.
During the protests, the Asian American Studies Pathways Project gave red cards to students in attendance. Students also received flyers from SOAR Coalition that read, “This is our campus, and we’re demanding an end to: Support for ICE, spying on students, funding for cops and funding for war.”
“SOAR is aiming to fight back against [oppression] and unite our orgs against a common direction, under common campaigns and really showing the breadth of the movement that’s here at CSUN,” said Evangelista.
Some students arrived with their signs and others passed around signs made by members of SOAR. Some of the signs read, “Keep communities united, not divided,” “Education, not deportation,” “Only the Indigenous can tell me where to go,” and “Without students. We have no school.”
SOAR representatives expressed their hopes for CSUN to break their silence and declare itself as a sanctuary school and pledge the safety of students and faculty from ICE.
Mexican, Peruvian, Salvadoran and Palestinian flags were waved throughout the protest. Many students in attendance felt that the protest resonated with them.
“Don’t give up at the end of the day. We aren’t doing anything wrong; no one is doing anything wrong. We are just here trying to make our voices heard for our family and friends,” said Janssy Castro.
