Members of the C.H.E. Cafe Collective demonstrated outside of the cafe’s premises on Tuesday, March 24 in protest of an eviction order from the administration.
Members of the Collective have not abided by the joint resolution of A.S. Council and Graduate Student Association following a series of meetings held over the past few weeks. Instead, the members decided to rally against administration’s order, marching around the facility with megaphones and picket signs.
According to Cameron Hughes, a press committee coordinator of the Collective, they don’t know how long the demonstration will last. it is unknown how long the demonstration will last.
“We are planning to stay as long as we need to,” Hughes told CBS 8. “We will be here when the students come back [from the spring break], … so we can rally more support.”
So far, administration has not responded to the Collective’s demonstrative action, and the members of the Collective are still occupying the facility, securing it from administration’s potential compulsory action that can now happen at any moment.
On its Facebook page, the C.H.E. Cafe Collective stated that the administration did not show any sign of resistance on the first day of the demonstration.
“Let’s take this unresponsiveness from the university as a win,” the Collective wrote.
Collective member Susan Wingfield Ritter described the atmosphere of the Collective supporters at the scene.
“People feel really good about what they are doing because they understand how important it is to do this,” Ritter said. “They were determined, upbeat and energetic.”
Before the Collective members proceeded with the demonstration on Tuesday, the Collective they received a letter from Juan Gonzalez Gonzalez, vice chancellor for student affairs student affairs, requesting the Collective to accept the resolution and voluntarily evacuate from the facility by Mar March 14. The letter also stated that if the Collective refused to do so, the administration will proceed with a formal eviction process.
However, the Collective members denied the request to vacate the facility by Mar. March 14, and causing the administration to post posted the final eviction order on Mar. March 17, allowing the members five more days to empty the facility. The Administration stated that, after the five days, law enforcement officers may attempt to forcibly remove all the members who refuse to vacate and lock them out of the facility.
While they are aware that the demonstration may involve physical confrontation, the Collective members disclosed through through CBS 8 that it is the last thing they want to face.
“We have no intention of escalating anything like that,” Hughes said. “We are just here to voice our opinion and voice our discontent with what’s going on and to put forth a notion that the university doesn’t have a legitimate basis for evicting the C.H.E Cafe.”
According to the Collective, UCSD administration has been actively attempting to eliminate the Collective it since 1980, when the Collective first became operational. This is the fifth time that the Collective is facing possible shutdown.
The C.H.E. Cafe Collective is a co-operative, social center and live music venue that hosted many rock bands, such as Green Day and Nirvana.
