Politics & Government
CSUN Hunger Strikers Demand Tuition Cuts
A dozen students from six campuses have joined in the protest.
A dozen students from six Cal State campuses, including four from Cal State Northridge, are on a hunger strike to press their demands for tuition cuts.
The action began Wednesday and is intended to end next Wednesday, when the CSU Board of Trustees meets at the Long Beach campus, where the hunger strikers hope to present their demands, The San Fernando Valley Sun reported.
The group heading the effort is Students for Quality Education, an organization at Cal State schools. The 12 students attend Cal State Sacramento, San Bernardino, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Long Beach, and four are from Cal State Northridge, according to the Sun.
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The four students are Sarah Garcia, Matthew Delgado, Grace Castaneda and Raiza Arias, The Daily Sundial, the CSUN student newspaper reported.
The students decided on a hunger strike because they said CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and Board of Trustees Chairman A. Robert Linscheid didn't adequately respond to their demands, according to the Sun. They're hoping the hunger strike will get their attention.
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"We felt that we had exhausted the (impact) of marches and rallies. We have no other choice than to escalate our actions," Edgar Ramos, 22, a CSUN Art major, told the Sun.
The students' demands include a five-year moratorium on increasing student fees, the elimination of all 23 campus presidents' housing and car allowances, no more cuts to classes and student services, and a designated free speech area on each campus.
Ramos told the Sun the hunger strikers have been preparing for the fast in recent weeks, reducing their food intake.
According to the Sundial student newspaper, Sarah Garcia is sophomore and deaf studies major. Grace Castaneda is a junior and double major in political science and sociology. Matthew Delgado is a sophomore, and Raiza Arias is a freshman theater and anthropology major.
Until the strike ends, they plan to consume only juices and water.
-- Information from The Daily Sundial was included in this report.
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