CSUN Students Protest Prop. 209

About 100 chanting students marched across the campus of Cal State Northridge on Thursday, then staged a symbolic burial of affirmative action programs in protest of Proposition 209.

Calling the controversial measure--which would end affirmative action in state and local governments--tantamount to the “death of diversity,” the leaders of several student groups organized the rally to encourage more students to vote.

“This is not the civil rights initiative!” Vladimir Cerna shouted into a megaphone, in reference to the name used by the proponents of the measure. “It’s the civil wrongs initiative.”

Joaquin Macias, a member of both the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) and the Black Student Union at CSUN, said the proposition would “take away the civil rights we’ve gained from affirmative action.”

Despite pleas to fellow students, marchers failed to draw many converts as they made their way in and out of academic buildings and around the campus perimeter.

While some students waved their hands and shouted encouragement, others were upset by the commotion.

“I think it’s really rude to disrupt the classes. What if someone is taking a test?” said Faye, a student who declined to give her last name.

The hourlong march ended where it began, on a grassy field between the bookstore and the faculty office building. There, a small black coffin with the words “R.I.P. Affirmative Action if 209 Passes” spelled out in red letters was placed at the foot of a lectern.

Pieces of cardboard bearing the names of MEChA and other student groups were placed inside to convey the students’ belief that the passage of 209 would signify the end of campus diversity.

“The struggle is not over on Nov. 5,” said Filiberto Gonzalez, chairman of MEChA. “The fact that this is even on the ballot adds salt to the wounds of race relations in this state.”