Jesse Jackson to Speak at CSUN Protest Rally

As part of a protest against reductions in affirmative action programs in California and the nation, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson will visit Cal State Northridge on Thursday to speak at a campus rally, the university announced.

Sponsored by the Coalition for Affirmative Action at Cal State Northridge, the rally will begin at 10:30 a.m. in front of the university’s Oviatt Library, at 18111 Nordhoff St. Jackson is slated to appear at 1:10 p.m., along with others, including Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and former Councilman Mike Woo.

“We’re hoping for between 2,500 and 3,000 people,” said student Vladimir Cerna, 22, a sociology and Chicano studies major and one of the rally’s organizers.

Cerna acknowledged that the event may not change people’s minds on the divisive issue, but he invites those in favor of abolishing affirmative action to listen to the speakers’ arguments.

“We believe that they represent views from their own communities,” he said of the scheduled participants. “We’re trying to be as diverse as possible.”