The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

Loading Recent Classifieds...
The Girls Who Code club met together in Sierra Hall, on Friday, Sept. 15, in Northridge, Calif. Club members played around with a program to create a virtual game.
The CSUN club that’s encouraging women in STEM
Miya Hantman, Reporter • September 18, 2023

CSUN’s Girls Who Code club is just one of many across many campuses and countries, including 110 in...

Students form a crowd for DJ Mal-Ski on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Northridge, Calif.
Matador Nights carnival makes a splash at the USU
Ryan Romero, Sports Editor • September 21, 2023

The University Student Union hosted “Matador Nights” on Sept. 8 from 7 p.m. to midnight. The...

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock by FiledIMAGE.
Women’s Soccer has Closed the Competitive Gap
Luis Silva, Reporter • September 19, 2023

There is no longer a significant competitive gap in the sport of women’s soccer. There is a brighter...

The line for concert merchandise on the second night of The Eras Tour in Paradise, Nev., on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
My experience at The Eras Tour
Miley Alfaro, Sports Reporter • September 18, 2023

It’s been a long time coming. I began watching The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift’s ongoing concert trek,...

Within the Oaxacan town of Asuncion Nochixtlan, we find my mother’s birthplace, Buena Vista. Photo taken July 29, 2023.
I Love Being Mexican
September 12, 2023
A student holds up a sign during a rally outside of the CSU Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach, Calif., on Sept. 12, 2023.
CSU board approves tuition increase amid protests
Trisha Anas, Editor in Chief • September 15, 2023

The California State Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a 6% tuition increase for the next five...

group of mena and women touching hands
Miracles In Action Restores Patients’ Lives and Actualizes their Potential

Protesters head to court to support CSUN students arrested during March 4 walkout

CSUN alumnus Marcos Zamora Sanchez showed support for the CSUN six outside the San Fernando Valley courthouse during their court appearance last Friday. Photo Credit: Armando Ruiz / Senior Photographer

Students arrested last March during a protest against education budget cuts appeared in court Friday.  CSUN students Jonnae Thompson, Justin Marks, Anthony Garcia, Jose Gomez and Los Angeles Valley College student, Angel Guzman, face charges ranging from battery to failure to disperse.

The defendants’ attorneys motioned to postpone the pretrial hearing for February 16, as they hope to resolve the case and avoid going to trial. During prior negotiations, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich offered to drop charges against all defendants except for Gomez.

They refused the deal, choosing to fight the charges collectively.

Lead defense attorney, John-Michael Lee, a CSUN alumnus, drew a parallel between the students’ arrests and the waves of protests in the 1960s.

“Some of them [defendants] didn’t even know each other before the arrest,” Lee said. “Now there’s this movement on campus that was just starting to take place on the day of the demonstrations. It’s like what we did in the sixties. They repress you, thinking they will stop you, and what they do is build movements that didn’t exist.”

Students and activists protested the proceedings outside the courthouse.

Christine Knight, a member of Todos Somos Arizona (We are All Arizona) accused the city attorney’s office of engaging in a witch-hunt.

“We went into it knowing we could be arrested, whereas the CSUN students didn’t assume they would,” said Knight. “There are different circumstances, but what we see is this politicized attack on resistance coming out of the attorney’s office. …that’s given us a catalyst to come together as a united front against him.”

Gomez said he is encouraged by the support that he and the other defendants have received from the activist community, especially at CSUN.

“In the beginning we thought we were alone,” said Gomez. “But it [the support] gives us hope to keep struggling. Unity overcomes any obstacle and we need to unite for education.”

Lee hopes the students will not have to face trial; he is optimistic about the case.

“This is going to be pretty unique—two generations of activists in the same case,” Lee said.

Hansook Oh contributed to this report.

More to Discover