Students and one CSULB alumnus held a protest outside of Dean of Students Jeffrey Klaus’ office calling for his resignation in the University Student Union today at 12:30 p.m.
The protesters, who identified themselves as members of WeAreCSULB, had three separate chants: “Hey hey, ho ho, Jeff Klaus has got to go”, “Klaus, Klaus, got to go, we can’t take your shit no more” and “Wake up, wake up! We’re not stopping ‘till you fired!”
WeAreCSULB is an independent group of students representing multiple student organizations on campus.
About 10 protestors held signs and handed out small flyers with reasons they feel Klaus should step down. On the back of these flyers were the words to the chants.
“When Jeff Klaus violated my friends and I’s First Amendment rights, he went out of his way to intimidate two women of color with his body,” said CSULB sociology alumnus Kevin Clinton.
The fuel for these demonstrations stems from the administrative decisions made after the knife incident this past February along with personal encounters with Klaus, according to Clinton.
After the Feb. 25 incident where a student held a knife in a sociology class on race, class and gender, students complained that the CSULB administration lacked transparency during the disciplinary process. The student protest group formed in the wake of this incident.
“He then followed up most recently with minimizing violence against women of color with the knife incident,” Clinton said. “That’s what we’re upset about, and that’s why we are trying to hold him accountable.”
The administration stands by Klaus and has stated that he will not be fired.
“President Conoley has met with either members of this group or other individuals who represent this group, and she did share with them in those meetings that the university supports Klaus,” said executive director of news Michael Uhlenkamp.
Conoley stated that Klaus will not be fired based on student demands. He is evaluated every year and if they do see weaknesses, Klaus is allotted a time period to improve before any sort of termination.
“I anticipate working closely with students to uncover and correct systemic [or] structural barriers to their success,” Conoley said. “We are a resilient community of learners who can work for continuous improvement. Our entire community is devoted to social justice.”
When the protest ended, the participants chanted “We’ll be back” as they left the USU building.
WeAreCSULB passed out fliers demanding Dean of Student Jeffrey Klaus’ resignation. The independent protest group that includes students from several CSULB student cultural organizations demonstrated outside of Klaus’ office calling for his resignation in the University Student Union today at 12:30 p.m.
Seriously… Kevin Clinton should be sued for defamation of character. The same should go for anyone else telling lies. Just go away crybullies.
Can someone please tell me what exactly Jeff did or said that blamed the victim, violated people’s first amendment rights, minimized violence against women of color, and discriminated against ASI president for being undocumented?? I’m really curious. From what I’ve read, he told a Sociology club not to worry because the situation was being handled. Did he say it in a bad tone, or maybe it came off the wrong way?
And what happened to the outside investigation? LBPD finished their investigation and handed everything to the DA’s Office. What is the DA’s Office doing? Why haven’t the members of WeAreCSULB questioned them? If the members of WeAreCSULB are truly worried about safety, then why protest the school administration when they’re following the legal system? I’m sure if the black student who brandished the knife has charges brought against him, then the school administration could expel the student on grounds of safety since it’s now through the legal system. Doesn’t it make sense to protest at the judicial system if safety is the concern? Getting expelled from school doesn’t mean safety. If he really was guilty, he can come back to campus anytime. The members of WeAreCSULB should be protesting the DA’s Office at this point if they’re truly concerned about safety. The school administration is following the judicial system.
These “WeAreCSULB” people need to get lives. Jeff Klaus has done nothing wrong and you all should be ashamed of yourselves!