Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include information about events that occurred on the day of the career fair.
Colorado State University students gathered on the Lory Student Center Plaza Feb. 24 to protest the participation of three major companies at the upcoming Spring Engineering Career Fair.
The protest was led by five student organizations: The People United, CSU Students for Emancipation and Social Liberation, CSU Young Democrats, Students for Justice in Palestine and the CSU chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
The student organizations gathered to protest three companies participating in the career fair, Woodward, Inc., Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, accusing the companies of using CSU students and resources to carry out the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“CSU is allowing the recruitment of students into the military industrial complex where our peers will be complicit in the manufacturing of bombs and technology for genocide,” a joint Instagram post about the protest reads.
The demonstration began with several speeches from student organizers.
“I ask again: Why are there 20-year-olds being killed in Palestine while 20-year-olds here in the U.S. attend career fairs to seal their deaths?” said Sophia Johnson, co-chair of Students for Justice in Palestine. “We must demand that these corporations are not allowed on CSU’s campus and that their presence is condemned.”
Following the speeches, the students broke out into chants, shouting statements such as “We the students make it clear; these businesses have got to go!” across The Plaza.
The students then held a panel with leaders from the five student organizations, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between their groups.
“Seeing so many organizations today was beautiful,” said Brayden Albrecht, co-chair of CSU’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. “We’re looking to have more into our United Front for Freedom; we’re looking to have more (organizations). We want more and more solidarity as time progresses.”
The Q&A then touched on ways to get involved with the student organizations, how to manage fear and their plans for activism after the career fair. While the panel spoke on The Plaza, student organizers handed out flyers — one explaining the purpose of the protest and another linking to a petition, sponsored by CSU’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, to encourage CSU to end their cooperation with the aforementioned companies.
“We have seen nationally (and) we have seen in our own state that these corporations do not like it when we dissent their presence on campus,” Johnson said. “They willingly back out of coming to campuses on their own.”
After the panel, the organizers provided chalk for students to write on The Plaza grounds.
The student organizations have plans for further action regarding the Spring Engineering Career Fair. A protest against the three companies is scheduled for Feb. 26, the day of the career fair, outside the Lory Student Center.
“Assuming that we have the victories that we are anticipating, we will try to apply further pressure onto the (CSU) administration and onto our university because it’s not just these three corporations,” Albrecht said. “It’s a lot deeper than that.”
On the day of the Spring Engineering Career Fair Feb. 26, student organizations gathered again on the plaza to protest the presence of companies on campus like Woodward Inc. Caterpillar Inc and Hewlett Packard. Notably, Woodward Inc. was not in attendance at the career fair.
Kemal Perdana, co-chair of SJP, said that he and other members of the organization entered the career fair to question employers about their companies’ involvement in the conflict.
“We went into the career fair to talk with these employers and let them know that the students are concerned about their presence here,” Perdana said. “They don’t feel safe because of their presence here.”
Perdana said that he personally spoke with an employer at the table for Caterpillar Inc., questioning them about what they knew about their companies’ involvement and the death of Rachel Corrie, who was killed in Gaza in 2003 by an Israeli military bulldozer manufactured by Caterpillar Inc..
“Right away, as soon as we walked in, we noticed five or six police members were in the corner of the career fair room where Caterpillar and HP were stationed,” Perdana said. “The police kept their eyes on us.”
Perdana said that the employer did not respond to his questions and eventually left the table to point Perdana out to a member of the police and LSC staff.
“We just kept getting ‘no comment,’ until finally, I believe it was an LSC employee, he came up to me and said that if I continue any longer with questions for Caterpillar that they would have to kick me out,” Perdana said.
Perdana left the fair soon after, joining other members on the plaza for additional speeches, chants and chalking.
“It’s just so heartwarming to see so many people out here (who) care and hold these values and embody these values,” Perdana said. “We’ve handed out so many petitions today, we have like 200 signatures on it now and it’s only going to escalate from here. If CSU doesn’t respond, we’re going to keep on pushing.”
Reach Robert Sides and Claire VanDeventer at news@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
