LOS ANGELES : Peaceful UCLA Rally Held on Chicano Studies Issue

More than 600 students rallied peacefully in front of UCLA’s Royce Hall for several hours Friday demanding departmental status for Chicano studies. The rally was the largest of several staged on the Westwood campus since May 11, when 99 students were arrested in a protest at the Faculty Center.

Several political leaders addressed the crowd, including state Sens. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) and Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who said they would hold up state funding for UCLA until the demand for a Chicano studies department is met. Torres has successfully urged the Senate to temporarily withhold $833,000 for an addition to the university’s law school.

UCLA Chancellor Charles Young has said he would not respond to that kind of threat and has promised to establish a Chicano studies department in two years if the current interdisciplinary program proves unsuccessful.

The protesters included students from UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, East Los Angeles College, Loyola Marymount, Cal State Northridge and various high schools. Student organizers announced plans to begin a protest fast Tuesday.