Valeria Mena opened the trunk of her SUV near Zamora Park in El Monte and smiled. He had emptied it to keep as much stuff as possible.
“It’s as clean as it ever was,” he joked to a group of friends.
The board game, included a five-gallon jug of water and a pack of mini-water bottles, a soccer ball and boxes of Svenhard’s Danish and Pringles. Next up: a trip to Walmart to buy safety glasses, zip ties, blankets and fire-resistant gloves.
Final destination: The pro-Palestine camp at Cal State Los Angeles.
The Gaza Solidarity Camp was built on the campus of Cal State LA. A student spokeswoman, who did not want to be named, said the group wants to end attacks in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine and divest the school from all investments in Israel.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
On May 1, students occupy a patch of grass next to the school gymnasium and vowed not to leave the school until the university withdrew all investments with Israel, boycotted organizations associated with the country and called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
they joined a movement has taken college campuses across the country, In Southern California, camps have grown at UC Irvine and my alma mater, Chapman University, where I occasionally teach classes. very big ones UCLA (where I earned my master’s degree) and USC It received national attention after police arrested hundreds of participants.
The Cal State LA encampment is a hit aside. It’s happening at a commuter school on the Eastside, with a blue-collar, Latino-majority student body of all ages who doesn’t have time to protest, let alone live in a tent city for days.
However, no one is surprised by what’s happening at Cal State LA.
The tradition of activism in school is very old For the Chicano movement of the 1960s, And as I wrote in a Columna last month, Many young Latinos have embraced the Palestinian cause From October 7, When about 1,200 people were massacred under the leadership of Hamas That prompted Israel to launch a bombing campaign that killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Activists have pushed Latino-majority cities like Bell Gardens and Cudahy passing a ceasefire resolutionhave held bipartisan rallies from Boyle Heights to Santa Ana and highlighted social media with posts drawing parallels between Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and how the US has treated Latin America.
“For a lot of the youth, this is the first time they’ve been in a setting like this,” Meena said. The 25-year-old is a volunteer at Casa Zamora, a community space in Zamora Park that typically hosts workshops on topics like aisle, Arts and local history. On Friday, it served as one of three loading zones for the Cal State LA supply run.
“We’re trying to give them some reassurance, to let them know that faces like ours support them,” Meena said.
“You feel the need to support the community,” said Isabel Pan, a 20-year-old sophomore at Pitzer College who has her own camp. His friend was one of 20 people arrested earlier this month Students occupy the President’s office at Pomona College, “There are a lot of different battles connecting, and people want to be a part of them.”
Pedro Gonzalez is a UCLA graduate who remembers walking “hundreds of times” to his alma mater’s Dixon Plaza, where the school’s pro-Palestinian camp existed for about a week, Attracting violent attacks from counter-protesters Before being cleared by law enforcement early thursday morning,
Seeing police firing flash grenades and less lethal rounds which injured protesters “It was disturbing,” the 26-year-old said. “I couldn’t make it there, but helping collect supplies is a way to support (for Cal State LA).”
Nayeli Diaz exits Casa Zamora in El Monte holding supplies, while Pedro Gonzalez follows her on May 3, 2024.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
The group arrived at Cal State LA just after sunset. They unloaded in a small parking lot, where other people were doing the same. The scene looked like something out of Home Depot as people were carrying neon-colored safety jackets, sheets of plywood and planks of various lengths. Others carried tubs filled with blankets, sleeping bags and first aid kits.
Ysabel Jurado, A candidate for city council district This includes Cal State LA, which brought bean and cheese burritos from La Abeja in Highland Park at the invitation of students.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to the horrors in Gaza,” he said. “And these students are peacefully exercising their right to free speech and driving the conversation forward, and they need our support.”
In the parking lot, Zhao Feng Ye was resting after unloading a carrier van loaded with wooden pallets.
“Many of us adults are asking ‘What can we do?’ We’re marching, we’re calling out the politicians who are doing the bare minimum, and we feel helpless,” said the 34-year-old San Gabriel Valley resident. “So when we see the next generation doing this – “It’s not an easy thing for them to take a risk on a billion-dollar organization. When you see that happen at a commuter school, it’s a big statement.”
Supplies for members of the Cal State LA camp are placed in the back of a van in El Monte on May 3.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Sam Vasquez and his girlfriend Nayeli Diaz were seen with masks and chalk.
“They’ve come a long way from the past,” said Diaz, a 35-year-old Cal State LA alumnus. In 2016, he and classmates tried to block traffic on the 10 Freeway near campus after Donald Trump became president. Victory. “It’s also beautiful to see community members here.”
Vasquez, 36, participated in the Occupy movement as a student at San Francisco State. “This is a misrepresentation that students should remain in their classrooms,” he said. “But this is another way of doing politics.”
He watched as more people came. “I can’t help like before. “But I can help with resupply.”
More than 100 people gathered inside the camp, blocking public access by a three-layer barricade of plywood, steel security barriers and metal picnic tables pulled from the school’s dining area. A sign declared that “Jesus was Palestinian”; Another said “Free Palestine” in Vietnamese. Pup tents were set up in the center; Pop-up tents with food and medical stations were set up on the perimeter. The mural on the bottom of the gym’s wall contrasts with a mural on the top that commemorates its role in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Burly men took turns commanding the entrance, carrying half a pallet bearing crossed-out numbers above the words “and counting.” Nearby were a Pure hand sanitizer dispenser, a masked statue of Billie Jean King, a Palestinian flag, and bouquets of baby’s breath and what looked like cosmos flowers. The protesters were between the ages of 20 and 30 and were mostly Latino. Volunteers practiced strengthening the barricades as the camp lights were turned on and people began to prepare to spend the night.
There was joy in the air. No one at the camp wanted to reveal their names – although one young woman admitted that the small boxer dog she had with her was named Lola.
I asked to speak to the media contact, and was greeted by a thin, irritable spokeswoman who said her name was Natalia. He politely refused to let me in and asked that we talk under a tent just outside the camp with “Media” written on it. Another sign warned that protesters retained the right to refuse to comment.
Natalia is a student at Cal State LA who has been enrolled at the school for “some time.” He said most of the other protesters were also students.
“It fills our hearts to see the role those who support us are playing in ending the genocide in Gaza,” he said.
When I asked about some people’s surprise that a commuter campus like Cal State LA would have an encampment, Natalia replied, “Even though we have a long way to go, it’s important to end our complicity in ending this genocide. It’s more than our effort to drive to get here.”
Which thing did he get the most?
“Water – it’s hot.”
How long will the camp last?
“Until we win.”
A view inside the encampment at Cal State LA on May 3.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Natalia saw a Times photographer taking pictures. “Mask up!” He shouted to the people inside the camp.
I thanked Natalia and chased passersby for comments. Most refused.
A young woman passing by raised her fist and shouted “Liberate Palestine!” She reveals her name is Anna and goes to UC Riverside.
“I didn’t know this was going on. I’m very interested,” the East Los Angeles native said. “We have always been told that you have to learn from history, otherwise history will repeat itself. I think students don’t want to repeat it.”
A young man with a piece of white toast with beans on top had just left a study session.
“It’s nice to see that people are willing to fight for what they believe in,” he said, requesting to be identified as an “anonymous student.” He said that the camp was not a topic of much conversation among his classmates and he did not give any opinion about it because he did not know enough.
As the student thought for a moment, more people approached us with items.
“Honestly, most of my time is spent studying.”
