Central Los Angeles : WORDS FROM STRIKERS

Five UC Irvine students who protested in support of affirmative action last month lectured students at Manual Arts High School gym in South-Central Los Angeles on Wednesday on the importance of standing up for their beliefs.

“Like Malcolm X said, ‘by whatever means necessary,’ ” said Manuel Galvan, 21, one of four hunger strikers who subsisted on a liquid diet for 15 days to protest the UC regents’ decision to scrap affirmative action on UC campuses. The protesters called off the hunger strike Nov. 1, citing health reasons and saying they had received assurances from three UC regents that the board’s ban would be reconsidered.