Story by Alexia Frederickson & Jonathan Canos
More than 100 students rallied together across campus to protest against the CSU’s tuition hike and San José State investment in Israel-supporting companies on Wednesday afternoon.
The walkout was organized by Students for a Democratic Society, SJSU Muslim Student Association and Students for Justice in Palestine.
The protesters congregated at the Student Union Patio before entering and chanting through the walkways of the Student Union.
While in the building, they chanted “Free, free, free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” while marching through the halls.
Many attendees held signs in protest of Israeli occupation in Gaza. One read, “36,000 murdered by Israel” and another said, “Divest from Genocide.”
The walkout congregated in several different locations around campus, including the housing quad, the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center, Tower Lawn and in front of the Smith and Carlos statue.
Many students were wearing keffiyehs and holding Palestinian flags as they attended the walkout.
A keffiyeh is a traditional Arab headdress worn by the nomadic communities of historic Palestine, which has become a symbol of support for Palestine, according to a Dec. 2023 NPR article.
A protester who asked not to be named because of concerns for her safety said she attended the protest because she wants to do more to support the Palestinian cause.
“I feel like it's important to be out here, just giving out support in any way,” she said. “I haven't been able to come to many events until today. So I figured I would just show up and be here.”
Tuition Hike
The CSU’s administration will increase tuition by 34% throughout the next five years starting in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Students for Quality Education also took part in and led the walkout. They are a community organization with a focus on getting affordable higher education, according to their Instagram.
“Education is becoming more of a commodity than an unalienable right,” said an SJSU student majoring in psychology.
Just over a month ago, the school was also battling a potential CFA strike when faculty among the CSU’s demanded an increase in pay according to San Jose spotlight.
Charlotte Casey, a San José resident and treasurer of the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, was disappointed and shocked by the tuition percentage increase.
Casey said it was obvious the school was targeting people of color with the sudden drastic increase in tuition.
“Education should be free like it is in Cuba and other European countries,” Casey said.
“Knowing that money is being put towards something that does not directly affect our students' interests, or faculty interests, or even the community's interest,” a psychology student said. “It's something that deeply bothers me.”
She said she acknowledges how the United States compares to other countries when it comes to education access.
One of the goals the contributing organizations had for the walkout is to call for a reversal of the tuition increase by the CSU board of trustees, as well as cutting ties with apartheid states according to Tarentz Charite, one of leaders of the event.
Divestment
Tarentz Charite, philosophy sophomore and representative for Students for a Democratic Society, said his organization is calling for SJSU to divest from a number of programs and organizations that support and aid Israel.
“I believe in ending oppression, I believe in preventing preventable death, I believe in freeing all people,” Charite said. “I think it was only reasonable that I come out in protest of my tuition and my taxes being used towards everything that I'm against.”
In a document sent to the Spartan Daily, Students for a Democratic Society is demanding that SJSU, “sever ties with war machines and defense companies, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, IBM and more, as well as government surveillance entities such as the CIA.”
Protestors gathered at the Smith and Carlos statue in front of the entrance of Clark Hall, which was being guarded by police officers.
Multiple protesters yelled and accused President Cynthia Teniente-Matson of being a supporter and ambassador to Israel.
Protestors chanted, “Cynthia, Cynthia we see you! Shame on you SJSU! You support a genocide too!”
“We need to be so loud that Cynthia will be quick!”, one organizer said to the crowd.
Charite said he wants a number of changes from SJSU, including passing a ceasefire resolution, the freezing of new University Police Department (UPD) hires and an investigation into racial discrimination for UPD.
“There is only so much that individuals can do about the entire country, and about the globe,” he said. “But starting here, from the place that you work, or go to school, or live or all three – If you know that you can make change, then make change now.”
Campus safety for Palestinian students
Protestors called for the firing of SJSU history professor, Jonathan Roth.
It was number seven of nine on the list of demands according to the community leaders.
Roth grabbed a student's wrist and twisted it before being removed by SJSU’s University Police Department, according to a Feb. 20 Spartan Daily article.
“They put Roth on paid administrative leave,” Charite said to the crowd.
Charite said there is hypocrisy on SJSU’s part in the handling of the altercation involving Palestinian-American SJSU student, Omar.
Omar was suspended indefinitely for allegedly throwing an empty juice pouch at students tabling for the campus-based club, Students Supporting Israel and the Jewish Student Union, according to a Nov. 21, 2023 Spartan Daily article.
“It's leading me to think about other ulterior motives and influences and who else might be dictating university policy?” said a psychology major who chose to remain anonymous.
During the protest, Charite led the group to the SRAC where a large banner was hung from the roof, “hands of Yemen”.
It was also the same location that campus police arrested Omar in front of his peers, Charite said.
“Freeze University police hiring, improve oversight of SJSU UPD, investigate UPD for racial discrimination,” Charite said.
