Student activist organizations at Colorado State University play a key role in advocating for the needs of the student body, often organizing community-based initiatives to bring people together and address issues across campus.
The People United is one such group. Formed in spring 2025, the student-of-color-led organization emerged in response to student concerns prompted by the United States Department of Education’s release of a Dear Colleague Letter and CSU President Amy Parsons’ announcement of changes to the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies, as well as uncertainty surrounding the university’s Cultural Resource Centers.
Ashenafi Paulos, the former president of The People United who graduated last fall, explained how she initially came to be involved with the organization and how the shift in federal policy helped mobilize her and others.
“I’d been wanting to start a student-of-color-led organization or coalition,” Paulos said. “I would always go to the B/AACC office and the other CRCs just to be around people that looked like me. That was the main reason why I wanted to join once it started, but I know that the main catalyst was the sit-in that we did at the Administrative Building.”
Paulos referred to the sit-in protest that was staged by a group of students following the release of the letter and the announcement from Parsons. Paulos emphasized the importance of providing support to those concerned about the future of CRCs during this time.
“It started off as having students representing each CRC because that was the main thing we were focusing on,” Paulos said.
Paulos described how, from there, the organization expanded its mission to advocate for marginalized students at CSU, not only addressing present issues surrounding the CRCs and DEI, but existing structural barriers to marginalized communities as well.
“With marginalized students, like with queer students, with disabled students, with students of color, with female-presenting students, I think it’s really important for all of us to be able to come together,” Paulos said. “This is what Fred Hampton and Huey Newton were trying to do. They were trying to get everyone together (by) being like, ‘Hey, this place wasn’t made for us and it’s not helping us at all, so it’s up to us to change it.’”
Paulos and other members of The People United organized several community-based initiatives, including food drives, protests and efforts to encourage students to speak out during Associated Students of CSU Senate sessions. Yoseline Rivera, a member of The People United, explained her motivation for organizing the food drives.
“I have always believed that no one should have to worry about food,” Rivera said. “In just two days outside of King Soopers, we collected over 1,000 pounds of food.”
Victoria Quesada-Stoner, former vice-president and current member of The People United, spoke about a community gathering the organization held around Thanksgiving.
“One of my favorite parts about last semester actually was Thanksgiving — and we weren’t celebrating Thanksgiving — but we had a little get together,” Quesada-Stoner said. “We just got to eat at the table and have fun, make jokes, and it was just a really amazing time.”
The organization is one of five within The United Front for Freedom, a coalition of student activist groups who most notably organized a student mass assembly in response to free speech policy changes, rumors of the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus and the erasure of DEI programs.
“We’re students, (and) we’re still learning how to do this and everything, but we’re really just an organization built on community and really trying to help all of our communities, (but) particularly the most vulnerable.” –Victoria Quesada-Stoner, The People United member
Amid growing concerns over ICE and immigration enforcement across the country, The People United has taken a cautious approach to advocating for immigrant and undocumented students at CSU, prioritizing accurate information and education while avoiding actions that could bring unnecessary attention to the group.
“We’re students, (and) we’re still learning how to do this and everything, but we’re really just an organization built on community and really trying to help all of our communities, (but) particularly the most vulnerable,” Quesada-Stoner said.
Ben Gregg, who was recently elected as The People United’s president and also serves as ASCSU’s director of unified success, said he shares the organization’s desire to approach campus issues thoughtfully before taking action.
“The worst thing that we can do is react hastily without thinking too much,” Gregg said. “That puts our members in danger, that puts our community in danger, and so that is not what we want to do at all.”
Looking ahead, Gregg highlighted three focus areas for the coming semester: food stability, immigration and continuing to support CRCs and marginalized communities across campus.
“It’s a very big country, and it’s very hard to enact significant systematic change, but what we can do is build our community, reinforce it, make sure that we insulate ourselves within this little Fort Collins bubble to where the students who are part of The People United — and even the students who are not — feel like there’s at least a space for them in this campus,” Gregg said.
Reach Claire VanDeventer at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
