Malcolm X Plaza’s legacy of political activism was reignited this week during the San Francisco State University’s chapter of the California Faculty Association’s third “Red 4 Ed Week.”
This semester’s events, hosted by the CFA along with the SFSU Student Union, Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Quality Education, filled the plaza on Thursday with music and activities, along with students and faculty demanding changes at the university.
The last “Red 4 Ed Week,” held in March, followed a proposal made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to reduce the California State University budget by 7.95%. The proposal was reduced to 3% in May following the National Day of Action for Higher Education on April 17 that saw protests on campus that ended at Civic Center.
Constance Gordon, associate professor of communication studies and College of Liberal and Creative Arts representative for SFSU’s CFA executive board, provided a written statement to Golden Gate Xpress describing the CFA’s hopes, not only for “Red 4 Ed Week,” but for the future of public education.
“Demoralizing faculty risks us all scattering into our silos and further eroding our collective power in a time when we need it the most,” Gordon said. “Red Week is part of the antidote and will be followed by a CFA-SFSU-wide town hall on November 12th to continue rebuilding our ranks and collective response.”
SFSU faculty were present at Rally 4 Education, an assembly featuring speeches from various members of the participating organizations, along with Sang Kil, a professor who taught at San Jose State University until her termination in 2024. During a speech, Kil said she was fired due to her expression of solidarity for Palestine and felt inspired by SFSU students who protested during the campus encampment in 2024.
“They want to characterize critics of anti-zionism as antisemitism,” Kil said.
Kil is part of the number of public education faculty who have been fired or temporarily suspended over their pro-Palestinian activism. Despite this, some students and faculty at SFSU refuse to remain silent.
The SFSU Student Union, Young Democratic Socialists of America and other student organizations have worked closely with the CFA to create a coalition of student and faculty-led resistance. Vi Lee, a political science and Asian American studies student, is an SFSU Student Union officer and has been part of the organization since the 2024 encampment.
Lee believes the issues faculty and students face are interconnected.
“They’re raising the course caps across the universities, so that’s going to make classes even larger, which is going to make students have less one-on-one time with their professors,” Lee said. “Professors are gonna have way more work because they’ll have more students.”
Lee led the “Past Movements” campus walking tour on Tuesday, exploring the history of political activism at SFSU. Students in attendance were given pamphlets further explaining the presentation.
Kalista Lowe, a first-year student, said she enjoyed how engaging the tour was.
“Walking to the different places on campus where protests were held helped me visualize what went down and allowed me to put myself in their shoes,” Lowe said.
Bay Area organizations such as United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America Law Union and San Francisco Rising offered their support and services to the campus during “Red 4 Ed Week.” Political education workshops were held daily in the campus library, including a presentation done by San Francisco Rising about student-led resistance against fascism. These presentations drew in both faculty and a majority of first-year students.
Vilma Molina, a first-year student, was eager to participate in group activities led by San Francisco Rising.
“It informs students about what’s going on, and students who are especially passionate can have an outlet to speak out on issues affecting them and their communities and get more involved,” Molina said.
League of Filipino Students, the SFSU Student Union and the Young Democratic Socialists of America tabled near Malcolm X Plaza throughout the week, answering students’ questions and providing free resources such as pamphlets and food.
During the week’s demonstrations, topics ranged from addressing the concerns of faculty at SFSU to other growing concerns regarding rapid legislative changes made by the Trump administration. The Gaza genocide, as well as the threats of fascism and imperialism, were discussed by leaders at the rally.
Char Bennett, co-chair of Young Democratic Socialists of America at SFSU, stressed the importance of intersectional activism, finding similarities in both the oppression of Palestinians and marginalized communities in the U.S.
“We understand that the zionist project is a project of Jewish supremacy similar to the project of white supremacy here in the U.S., instead of it being rooted in Christian nationalism as it is here, it’s rooted in Jewish nationalism,” Bennett said.
SFSU YDSA Officer Xavier Berthon emphasized the importance of understanding the struggles of oppressed peoples around the world, not as isolated issues, but as interconnected problems stemming from broader systemic issues.
“We should see the struggle of the Zapatistas in Chiapas, MSD [Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger] in Brazil, of the Kurds in Syria, the struggle for Palestinian liberation and join in the struggle for freedom from state and capitalist oppression,” Berthon said.
At the end of the rally, Young Democratic Socialist of America officer Diego Huerta led a chant to close out the week-long demonstrations.
“Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation,” Huerta shouted.
Olivia Bañuelos (she/they) is a contributor for Golden Gate Xpress. She is double majoring in photojournalism and Broadcast and Electronic Communications Arts at San Francisco State University. Olivia was born and raised in Yuba City, California. She enjoys street photography, collaborating with artists on projects through freelance film and photo, creating personal mixed media projects and writing. In her free time, she enjoys watching films, going out with friends and live music.
