Monterey Bay campus rally urges free Palestine and protests war industry

On May 6 2024, students at California State University Monterey Bay organized a Rally for a Free Palestine on the main quad. The event, led by the Abolitionist and Decolonial Learning Collective, featured yoga, volleyball, music and speeches calling attention to Gaza, U.S. military spending and the broader forces of oppression. Attendees displayed signs such as “All eyes on Gaza” and “No peace under occupation,” and highlighted the university’s historic ties to nearby military installations, including the Naval Postgraduate School, the Defense Language Institute, and Fort Ord.

The rally underscored the campus’s proximity to a long‑standing military presence, framing the protest as both a call for Palestinian freedom and a critique of the war industry embedded in the Monterey Bay region.