CSU San Marcos Faculty and Students Rally to Demand Sanctuary Campus Status

Last Thursday, CFA members joined with Students for Quality Education (SQE), Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán (MeChA) students, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at CSU San Marcos to demand that Chancellor García and CSU San Marcos President Ellen Neufeldt declare the campus a sanctuary space.

The rally took place during the Social Mobility Symposium at CSU San Marcos, where García and Neufeldt were both present. The event, meant to explore innovative approaches to supporting student success and empower students, became an opportunity to hold the Chancellor – who recently came under heavy criticism by legislators for her mishandling of CSU finances – accountable for ensuring the safety of CSU students.

While CSU San Marcos is designated as a Hispanic-serving institution, it has drawn criticism for not having a clear stance against ICE, particularly in light of the recent policy changes under the Trump administration that would allow ICE to raid college campuses and other sensitive areas. Many undocumented and mixed-status students now find themselves in a very precarious and unsafe environment. SQE, SJP, and MEChA used the symposium to highlight the chancellor’s hypocrisy of advocating for social mobility while failing to protect vulnerable students.

Marisa Salinas, CFA San Marcos member, reflected on her experience at the rally. “Witnessing our students engage in direct action on behalf of undocumented and mixed status family students reminded me of the CSU’s critical role as a public university system with a responsibility to contribute to the public’s welfare. For us – especially in the Borderlands – that includes our undocumented and mixed status family,” said Salinas, a CSU San Marcos professor. “There is no social mobility and no Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) without undocumented and mixed status family students. When it comes to concessions, history shows us that they rarely, if ever, come without struggle… and our students modeled for all of us that this is what the democratic process looks like.”

The university police presence was alarmingly high at the event, with additional police being recruited from Mesa College and Palomar College. Students gathered in the free speech area, holding signs and chanting, but were prevented from entering the symposium by a wall of police.

Jonelle Myers, CFA San Marcos Lecturer Co-Representative, commented on how incredibly proud she was of her students supporting one another. “They exercised collective power and took direct action to make their demands known. Chancellor García’s tuition increases, suppressive Time, Place, Manner policies, increased militarized policing on campus, and refusal to make all CSUs sanctuary sites creates a hostile learning and working environment. As faculty, we have a responsibility to take a stance against oppressive policies and procedures that target our students and our academic freedom. We must insist: Hands Off Students!”

“I can’t explain how proud I was to see students stand up to President Neufeldt’s lukewarm response to ICE on campus and a lack of direct response she has had for immigration enforcement,” remarked SQE intern Jaelin Ivester. “Students are tired of neutrality that benefits no one, are tired of being milked for their funds to pad middle managements’ pockets, and are tired of true responsiveness from Mildred García. Is she there to support students or is she there to take their money? Students are up in arms over her lack of care for them, and honestly? I couldn’t be prouder of them for speaking that truth.”

Viridiana Diaz, CSU San Marcos Vice President of Student Affairs, and Mary Oling-Sisay, tried to negotiate with students who demanded a meeting with the chancellor. Instead, students secured meeting with President Neufeldt immediately after the symposium, while the chancellor quickly left the campus midway through the symposium, escorted by police.

Neufeldt raised concerns that declaring the campus a sanctuary site may create challenges, but students expressed that they already felt vulnerable in their current circumstances.

Unwilling to give up without a firm answer, student and faculty activists managed to secure a follow-up meeting with the president for today for further discussion.

Determined to make their voices heard, student activists continued their chants and demands for justice until the sun eventually began to set.

In an unbelievably cold and abrupt manner, the Dean of Students decided to notify the students yesterday – the day before they were set to meet with Neufeldt – that the meeting was cancelled because Neufeldt was now “unavailable.” He also stated that, because more protests were occurring today, they would only meet when no protests would take place.

Although the Dean of Students, Jason Schreiber, provided a later date and time to meet, he failed to provide a location. This was also the case with the meeting originally scheduled today. It is indicative of the president’s unwillingness to meet and engage with students.

After an exchange of e-mails with students, Schreiber also claimed that student demonstrators violated the university’s time, place, and manner policy, as though the students had made the university “unsafe” by their campus protests.

Faculty and students will take to the campus today to continue their protest around the urgency of protecting our undocumented students.