“This is concerning. I definitely feel profiled and am devastated that Sonoma State is being aggressive with students. They are surveilling in the worst possible way. What the dean of students is doing is unacceptable,” said Sonoma State student organizer Josue Chavez. “I really question whether I can go to school and feel at ease. It is nerve-wracking walking on campus. This seems like a strategy to dissuade organizing, but it’s not going to stop me.”

The Chancellor’s Office issued a directive as a companion piece to its systemwide interim “Time, Place, and Manner” (TPM) policy beginning this Fall term. CFA members are hosting a virtual unionwide town hall September 18 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Register here.

We are already seeing how the short-sighted policy serves to justify maintaining and expanding arbitrary surveillance on our campuses.

Participants at an August 24 gathering of Sonoma State students involved in campus encampments last term received a letter accusing them of violating the anti-freedom of speech policy. The letter was received by Chavez who wasn’t present at the gathering. They were at their job, far from campus.

During a meeting with campus administrators, accompanied by Napoleon Reyes, former CFA Sonoma State President, they found that Dean of Students Ryan Henne took photos and identified students at the August 24 gathering. As Chavez explained that it wasn’t him, it was clear that “they didn’t want to believe me.”

Last week, they learned that the student conduct charges were dropped. Others received warnings, and the main organizers are at risk of dire consequences, such as the removal of financial aid. While feeling unsettled, Chavez also feels a renewed sense of agitation and a commitment to continue organizing.

“Why was I misidentified? Am I seen as a threat? This cannot happen again. It’s a threat to anyone who, like me, has a brown complexion,” said Chavez, an undocumented, queer fourth-year sociology major. “I’m being targeted like many others for simply wanting a better CSU.”

CFA members are hosting a virtual unionwide town hall:
September 18
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Register here

At CSU Long Beach, CFA campus leaders held two all-faculty listening sessions about the new restrictions to their right to free speech and academic freedom.

“Our chapter held listening sessions to hear directly from faculty regarding the tentative system-wide TPM, as well as the Long Beach addendum. The resounding message we heard is that faculty are offended by the racist language of the Long Beach addendum. We need to remind CSULB that the core function of the University is EDUCATION, not Surveillance. Management asserts that these policies are intended to ensure a safe and peaceful campus, but we all know that putting UPD in charge of approving every single request for events and posters would turn the University into a surveillance state,” said Shelly Collins, CFA Long Beach Co-President.

Although management asserts that these policies are intended to ensure a safe and peaceful campus, we believe they’re aimed at suppressing protests and future strike actions, all of which fundamentally undermine the civil liberties of faculty, students, and staff and, in the case of Long Beach, our relationship to the local community.

“Forcing translation of materials interferes with the pedagogical integrity of faculty at CSU Long Beach. At a Hispanic Serving Institution, this could particularly impact Spanish-speaking and multilingual students, their families and communities. Language is intrinsically tied to culture, and specific elements, such as cultural experiences and history cannot simply be translated. Some terms do not have a direct, single-word equivalent in many languages, including English. Requiring English translations is a barrier to CSULB’s commitment to No Barriers,” said Claire Garrido-Ortega CFA Long Beach Co-President.

Applying the new “directive” to faculty (or any represented employees) before we meet and confer with management is a violation of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA). Because of the Chancellor’s HEERA violation, we filed a charge with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). Our charge alleges that the CSU administration has failed to bargain in good faith with our members and that the administration has established a new code of conduct that implicates performance and discipline of faculty. (Although some of the conduct prohibited by the chancellor’s directive is prohibited by state law, other aspects of the chancellor’s directive involved CSU’s exercise of discretion, over which we had a right to notice and an opportunity to bargain.)

While “time, place, and manner” policies have existed on our campuses for decades to regulate when, where, and how a campus is used, the new systemwide policy is a departure from past practices, as it is far more restrictive and oppressive than previous iterations.

We must continue our organizing efforts around this issue both locally and unionwide. You can reach out to your chapter’s representative to see how best to get involved, and we will continue to update you as new developments on the statewide “time, place and manner” policy unfold.

Join CFA
Scroll To Top