About 50 students, faculty and community members gathered Wednesday on Sproul Plaza to bring attention to the disappearance of student-teachers in Mexico.
Forty-three students from the teachers college Ayotzinapa, located in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico, were reported missing in September after being arrested for protesting against recent violence in the area. A similar rally was held in front of Sather Gate in October to raise awareness of the disappearances.
“We are protesting the way in which the Mexican government is handling the case,” said Ivonne del Valle, an associate professor in the campus department of Spanish and Portuguese. “The government is not doing what they should be doing to right this wrong.”
Students and faculty from campus departments that included Spanish and Portuguese rallied support by reading the names of the 43 students, whose pictures were displayed on a banner.
Organizers held a teach-in inside Dwinelle Hall to present information about the disappearances and the drug war in Mexico.
“We want to draw attention to the fact that these are students that disappeared for protesting,” said Estelle Tarica, an associate professor in the campus department of Spanish and Portuguese. “We want to highlight the crime of impunity and the inability of the state to resolve the crime.”
A rally will be held Thursday in solidarity with similar movements across the world. The rally and march will begin at 11:30 a.m. at City Hall and will culminate with action on Sproul Plaza at noon.
