On May 15, CSU Chancellor Mildred García placed Sonoma State University President Mike Lee on leave for “ insubordination”, after he agreed to four demands by Sonoma State State Students for Justice in Palestine. Soon after Lee announced he had resigned.
The four demands were: one, to divest and disclose; two, an Academic Boycott of Israeli State Institutions; three, to implement a Palestinian studies curriculum under ethnic studies, and four; a statement for a permanent ceasefire.
When the CSU removed Mike Lee, it shocked the whole student body and was a difficult lesson in the power and politics of our education system. What many thought of as only violence abroad, now realized was something that was affecting them at their own college.
On the first few days of the encampment, according to numerous conversations, interviews and experiences with the organizers, relations with administration and Mike Lee were rough.
Organizers quoted in the Press Democrat said it had been like trying to talk to a “concrete wall”.
But as time progressed and the encampment approached its first week, President Lee stepped in a few times to check on students. This was a big first step, considering he had previously taken routes to avoid the encampment to get to the student center.
As days progressed, it was clear to many in the encampment that their president was now making an effort: by directly showing up in person, and sitting and talking with organizers for hours.
What could have been a closed door office meeting with fluorescent lights was a circle on the grass of students, administrators, and faculty in the sun of the encampment. And students walking by noticed it.
According to members of the encampment, a large portion of the negotiation was informing their president on Gaza, Rafah, and Palestine in general.
At the time of the encampment, “All eyes on Rafah” had taken social media by storm, as many Palestinians lay crowded in tents in the city of Rafah, as Israel’s Military announced it would soon launch a ground invasion into the city; something President Biden said would be crossing a line.
Students at the encampment also discussed with Lee the various structures of Israel’s current apartheid policies. One, brought up during a meeting, was a discussion of Israel restricting Palestinians from collecting rainwater.
According to Amnesty International, “In November 1967 the Israeli authorities issued Military Order 158, which stated that Palestinians could not construct any new water installation without first obtaining a permit from the Israeli army. Since then, the extraction of water from any new source or the development of any new water infrastructure would require permits from Israel, which are near impossible to obtain.”
Mike Lee, in suit and all, listened to students and came to an agreement after days of discussion on the lawn. On the other end of the student’s deal, they agreed to clean up the encampment and take down the tents by 8 pm.
But as the last few tents were taken down and portions of the encampment had already been taken off campus, every student and faculty member received the email of Mike Lee’s removal.
Chancellor Garcia’s reputation was already low due to the implementation of the CSU tuition increase. For every SSU student to receive an email saying their president had been removed for insubordination, sparkled a genuine sense of school spirit and community that had never been on campus before.
Posts on the app Fizz, which requires a Sonoma Edu login, began to go viral. One post in particular, featured a photo of student protestors facing armed police at the graduation ceremony, titled “Justice for Mike Lee” with nearly 900 likes.
Students saw their classmates holding their hands up for hours, facing armed police officers and the Sheriff’s Office at their own graduation. This was not a “political issue abroad” anymore.
With Sonoma State having three presidents in two months, and the number one school in the CSU system struggling with under enrollment, stability is not a word that would describe the state of the campus.
But one thing is for certain: Students want justice for Mike Lee, and answers.
For many, Sonoma State students’ introduction to interim President Emily Cutrer was through an email addressing the new time, place, and manner policy across all 23 CSU campuses.
Some of these new policies include banning face masks to prevent protestors from concealing their identities. Another, bans the usage of sticks and poles for signs.
Students deserve to hear from the people that represent them and their campus, and as of now, there has not been a meeting with SSU SJP and interim President Emily Cutrer.
As time continues to pass without any discussion on demands, Lee’s absence and the state of campus affairs; the inaction from the president’s office is becoming more clear to the community.
Will Emily Cutrer be a people’s president? Or another placeholder president for capital?
