The CSULB Divest group meeting opened with a land acknowledgment followed by a summary of the “current situation” at Long Beach State. 

Students from various organizations discussed tuition hikes and other increased costs, including the University Student Union fee, books, housing and the rising cost of living.

They also mentioned the cost of parking, the lack of ADA accessibility and general accessibility on campus, as well as the increased presence of ICE in communities and fewer safe spaces available for students, including the cultural centers.

CSULB Divest hosted a “Campus Community Town Hall” event on Oct. 21, where students, staff and faculty were encouraged to speak on issues the coalition claims affect Long Beach State students as a whole: parking, USU construction, basic needs and tuition hikes.

The town hall was the latest in a series of meetings that CSULB Divest has hosted this semester.

CSULB Divest, a coalition of student activists, comprises of 13 student organizations and has approximately 800 members who collaborate to advocate for change on campus regarding divestment, accessibility, student resources and more.

CSULB Divest is not an official campus organization but rather a collaborative effort by student activist organizations to organize and spread their message of inclusivity and change through action and protest.

Fourth-year political science major Amadeo Rubalcaba, member of the coalition and La F.U.E.R.Z.A Student Association, attended the town hall. Rubalcaba currently lives with his aunt in Long Beach, away from his immediate family.

“One of the biggest [issues] is resource centers,” Rubalcaba said. “Last year I was in the dorms, this year I wasn’t … allowed access to the dorms, which affected a lot of my ability to get to school and find solid housing. The big thing that comes with the resource centers is being able to keep my food warm, [and] keep the space for me to keep my stuff safe throughout the day.”

CSULB Divest group members prepare for their Town Hall meeting on Oct. 21. The coalition is comprised of 11 student organizations on campus. Joshua Flores | Long Beach Current 

More on-campus organizations continue to align with CSULB Divest, encompassing a range of groups from cultural clubs to activist organizations. The Muslim Student Association, the Pakistani Student Association and the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association are among the newest organizations to join.

The 11 organizations currently aligned with CSULB Divest:

Students for Justice in Palestine (@sjpatcsulb)
La F.U.E.R.Z.A Student Association (@lafuerzacsulb)
Anakbayan Long Beach (@anakbayanlb)
For Undocumented and Empowered Leaders (@fuelsulb)
Chicanx/Latinx Studies Student Association (@csulbchls)
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Student Association (@wgsssa)
Muslim Student Association (@msacsulb)
Pakistani Student Association (@psacsulb)
Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (@mena.csulb)
Students for Socialism
Students for Quality Education (@sqelongbeach)

Following opening discussions at the town hall, attendees participated in an open forum, where they voiced their personal struggles and concerns.

Another topic of contention was that the locations for the new cultural resource centers at the new USU are not expected to be completed until summer 2028.

CSULB Divest asserts that the new resource centers will be smaller than the current ones and that no student feedback was considered when designing the designated spaces.

According to the Future U FAQ page, Associated Students, Inc. stated that it conducted an Alternative Consultation campaign, engaging with the campus community over 17,000 times through surveys and other means.

According to ASI, 70% of the 7,555 respondents saw moderate to high value in renovating and expanding the USU. 

Students from CSULB Divest also voiced frustration over food on campus, claiming there is no access to affordable options. They said the USU construction only heightened these issues.

In addition to organizing events and fundraising, CSULB Divest has also launched its own publication, “The People’s Current.” They released their first issue in early October.

The publication serves as a platform for organizations or individuals aligned with CSULB Divest to express their views or address problems related to each issue’s theme.

All articles and artwork are anonymous due to a perceived threat to privacy for the contributors.

The front page of “The People’s Current,” a community newspaper organized by CSULB Divest members to voice their campus concerns and complaints. The publication is also, in part, a response to The Long Beach Current. Photo courtesy of CSULB Divest’s Instagram page.

Students for Socialism, CSULB Divest member and a contributing organization to “The People’s Current,” is an unofficial student organization in the process of becoming a recognized club. 

They started hosting biweekly meetings on Mondays.

“We want to bring in a socialist lens … meaning we want to be a point of view of workers, labor and making sure that we’re not beholden to billionaires or any other capitalist corrupting force,” third-year aerospace engineering major Salvador Sanchez said. “We also support a third party called Peace and Freedom Party, so we also want to bring … a voting alternative for any students in the coalition or beyond.”

University officials have stated that political clubs are allowed on campus because Long Beach State is a free speech campus, which includes the promotion of political parties such as the Peace and Freedom Party. 

Joshua Cabebe is a coordinator for Student Life and Development, which oversees the club recognition process on campus.

“We have a variety of clubs ranging from different political views, cultural, ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds,” Cabebe said. “They just have to put in the work to go through the intake process.”

Students for Socialism already has a faculty adviser, Ben Huff, an associate professor for the Department of Cinematic Arts and a self-described socialist for many years. Huff is also a union member of the California Faculty Association on campus.

“Being an adviser for a club like this is part of all the things that I have devoted my life to … promote socialist ideology and there is a better world possible than the one in which we live in,” Huff said. “I would say that the students I know who are currently in the club are very friendly and very non-judgmental and open-minded, and that they welcome healthy and polite debate and fruitful discussion.”

Students for Socialism also has ties to the national Party for Socialism and Liberation chapter in Long Beach; however, CSULB Divest is not associated with the chapter. 

While CSULB Divest is aligned with Students for Socialism, all organizations have their own personal focus, but collaborate for change at Long Beach State.

At its core, CSULB Divest aims to represent a grassroots collaboration, a network of groups with shared goals, working together in a leaderless movement for change.