Cal State University students, faculty and staff rallied this week to voice their concerns and frustrations with what protestors called the CSU management’s suppression of free speech, absence of shared governance and lack of accountability. The CSU chancellor’s office, in a statement, said it takes the concerns seriously — but the students remain at the center of its decision making. Professors, lecturers, counselors, coaches, librarians and students gathered outside of the CSU Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Long Beach, urging that trustees prioritize student learning and success in and out of the classroom. “We are the voice of the people and we are here to remind them that we matter,” Vang Vang, California Faculty Association treasurer and Fresno State librarian, said during the rally. “We are the heart and soul of the universities and we will make sure that they hear us every single day.” During the rally, there were speeches from students, faculty and staff. Many said they were done with the trustees’ limit of one minute per speaker for public comment during board meetings, so holding their own public comment offered a space for people to share their experiences at the CSU. CFA members also put on a street theater performance, during which they criticized the actions of CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia and brought attention to issues of limited free speech, how tuition money is being spent, courses being cut and more happening at the 23 campuses across the CSU system. “It was a creative way to express our frustration towards the chancellor’s office,” said Elaine Bernal, a lecturer in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Cal State Long Beach, who participated in the performance. “They’re not going to listen to use in our one-minute comments, so might as well get really creative with it and really showcase what’s going on inside.” Luis Ortiz, a student at Cal State Long Beach and member of Students for Quality Education, said that he had been coming to the chamber for three years and has felt ignored by the CSU Board of Trustees. “Every single cry for change, tears were shed in that chamber, their backs turned against us but we won’t give up,” Ortiz said. “We don’t do it for ourselves; we do it for the next generation.” In a statement on Wednesday, the CSU Office of the Chancellor said that they acknowledged the concerns expressed by the CFA members and “take them seriously.” “But our collective focus must continue to keep students at the center of our decision-making,” the statement said. “We have a shared responsibility to empower students from all socioeconomic backgrounds to achieve their academic and personal goals, and our faculty and staff play a critically important role in helping the CSU fulfill that promise.” Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members gathered at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, to voice their concerns with CSU management and other issues happening across the CSU system. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) During the rally on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach, the CFA presented a street theater performance sharing their concerns with CSU management and other issues across the CSU system. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) During the rally on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach, the CFA presented a street theater performance sharing their concerns with CSU management and other issues across the CSU system. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) During the rally on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach, the CFA presented a street theater performance sharing their concerns with CSU management and other issues across the CSU system. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Vang Vang, CFA treasurer and Fresno State librarian, at the rally on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the CSU Board of Trustee building in Long Beach. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members gathered at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, to voice their concerns with CSU management and other issues happening across the CSU system. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) CSULB student and SQE member Luis Ortiz speaking at the rally on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 7Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members gathered at the CSU Board of Trustees building in Long Beach on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, to voice their concerns with CSU management and other issues happening across the CSU system. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Expand Protestors also accused the chancellor’s office of silencing and intimidating faculty and students for exercising their free speech and academic freedom on CSU campuses, especially with the new “Time, Place and Manner” policy that was implemented earlier this year after a rise in pro-Palestininan students setting up encampments and protesting for universities to divest from Israel as the ongoing war in the Middle East continues. The policy restricts face coverings and requires advance written approval for posters, signs, banners and chalking, protestors said. “The CSU is committed to freedom of speech and expression as an essential component of its educational mission,” the chancellor’s office said in a statement. “Through its new systemwide policy, the CSU will ensure that individuals and groups are afforded wide latitude in lawfully exercising the right of free expression and that their constitutionally protected right to free expression is not abridged.” Students and faculty once again brought up the concern of the 34% tuition hike over the next five years, which the board approved last year after much opposition. Raising fees would further disproportionately affect marginalized students – such as native, Black and brown students, students with disabilities, and trans students who are already under tremendous financial strain, protestors said on Wednesday. “I was here last year trying to avoid the tuition hikes but that didn’t work, so I want to know, where is that money going?” said Britneey Ochoa, a student from Cal State Northridge, “because obviously we’re not being shown that, because our campus is not providing anything new for us.” The CSU raised tuition twice in the past 13 years, according to the CSU chancellor’s office. “No university system can sustain financial viability for that length of time without a tuition increase,” the chancellor’s office said in a statement. “The revenue from the tuition increase is essential to provide the CSU with the financial stability it needs to continue to serve students today and in the future, invest in our academic programs, and support our workforce. “In fact, one-third of new tuition revenue from the recent increase is dedicated to financial aid,” the statement added, “ensuring that we can continue to make higher education attainment affordable for all students.” Related Articles News | How California keeps transgender student athletes in the game as bans unfold across the country News | New lawsuit explicitly targets San Jose State over transgender volleyball firestorm News | USC President Carol Folt to retire at end of academic year  News | Judge to decide whether to revoke state license for Anza’s Olivet University News | Riverside County students get a new path to Cal State University