CSUDH Leads Empowerment March for Students in Wake of Recent Election
The students of CSUDH are feeling the whiplash from Tuesday’s Presidential Election which resulted in a Trump electoral win. Organizations on campus like Women of Color and Peace Club held a peaceful protest in collaboration with the Society of Independent Student Journalists, Black Student Union, Equality Club, Chicano/a Studies, Women’s Resource Center, and the Office of Student Life.
Waves of protests have spurred up throughout metropolitan cities like Chicago and New York and Los Angeles and the students at Dominguez Hills followed suit, using this protest as an opportunity to speak their minds and unload some long-carried-baggage this election has packed.
In an effort to ease the minds of many worried students, Alma Lopez, president of the Women of Color club, came together with her members the day after the election to draft up a plan to bring students together for an Empowerment Walk.
“We wanted everybody to come together to heal. A safe space to all speak our opinions, be heard and feel like other people agree with us,” said Lopez. “Nobody should feel alone right now.”
While Americans across the country turned to social media as an outlet to express their grief, organizations on campus decided to become proactive.
“We couldn’t just sit there and be hurt. said Lopez. This is a time to unite.”
The event brought students and faculty, some from marginalized groups and discriminated paths together in solidarity. As CSUDH is one of the most diverse campuses in the Cal State system, there was a big turn out. About 300 students marched together to raise awareness and petition against the president-elect, Trump.
The divisiveness of this campaign has put people at odds and left many people in fear for their rights. The marginalized groups targeted by the Trump campaign are now in a greater position of vulnerability. A large group of those present were protesting the president-elect’s threats to deport undocumented immigrants.
Although these students are eligible to enroll for school in this state under the California Dream Act, they are still not considered citizens or “legal” under federal law. Undocumented students who attend public, community or private college are eligible for financial aid within the state.
While one student gave a speech to the crowd regarding immigration some students were heard yelling out “DACA, DACA”.
The DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which is a federal process that defers removal action of an individual for a specified number of years.
While no one knows what actions Trump may take in the coming future, the protesters still expressed their legitimate fears, and made it known that they would not take discrimination lying down.
Clubs and organizations on campus have come together to generate unity and let students concerns about their futures be heard. Several signs at the march read,
“Get involved everyday not just today”, “and still we Rise”, and “Unity in our community”.
This peaceful protest created a safe space for students and faculty to come together and march through campus, as a message to everyone that the CSUDH community is still strong, no matter who the president may be
Continuing the discussion, let’s listen to an inside look at how teachers are facing these issues in their classroom in this podcast with a high school teacher in Inglewood, California.
Neek Delrooz Photography 