FULLERTON : Student Protesters Burst Into Meeting
About 30 chanting, sign-waving Cal State Fullerton students burst into a student government board meeting Tuesday, charging racism on campus.
Members of the school’s Latino and black organizations said they were protesting the disqualification of two supporters of minority rights from the board of Associated Students Inc.
The protesters said they also objected to the recent sponsorship by Associated Students Inc. of controversial talk-show host Morton Downey Jr. and the forceable removal of a Latino student from the organization’s office.
“We’re fed up, and we’re not going to take it any more,” said Rafael Plascencia, a co-chairman of the Latino student organization, MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) .
Plascencia called for the resignation of Associated Students’ President Jim Simon and other board members.
On the charges of racism, Simon said: “I don’t think these are signs of racism on campus. I believe there have been incidences of racism, but I don’t think these incidents are an indication of that.”
Simon said the two minority supporters were disqualified from the board for failure to complete financial disclosure forms. He added that two other board members were removed for the same reason.
He denied that the allocation of $5,000 in student fees by Associated Students for the appearance of Downey was a sign of racism.
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