Lieutenant governor candidate Oliver Ma visits Cal Poly during ‘Books not Bombs’ tour

California lieutenant governor candidate, Oliver Ma, visited Cal Poly on Tuesday.

Cal Poly was one of Ma’s stops on his “Books not Bombs” California college rally tour. So far, Oliver Ma and his team hosted events at UC San Diego, UC Los Angeles and UC Davis, and their next stop will be Sacramento State, following the stop at Cal Poly on May 12. According to Ma’s official Facebook, the tour is aimed at bringing conversations to college campuses on university budgets and where the funds are being allocated.

At the rally, Ma spoke to the crowd about his background, being a child of immigrants and his career as a lawyer. He entered the legal field to advocate for working families, taking on cases involving tenant rights and defending immigrant communities against unlawful enforcement actions. 

“This is what I believe. We cannot get affordability without abolishing ICE. You cannot get affordability without fighting the corporate landlords. We cannot get affordability without a free Palestine,” Ma said.

Ma gave an update on how his campaign is progressing. He stated that the campaign is running non-traditionally, as it is not taking funding from large corporate organizations, billionaires or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. 

“We need to build grassroots power. As of right now, I have more than 5,000 volunteers. And that’s not only more than every other lieutenant governor’s candidate — that is more than every governor candidate,” Ma said.

The rally was hosted in collaboration with several on-campus organizations, including Young Democratic Socialists of America, Students for Justice in Palestine, Cal Poly Democrats, Tech for Liberation and Cal Poly Urbanists. Representatives from these organizations had the platform to speak as well.

Some students attended to listen, while others actively voiced support for the campaign and its message.

MacGregor Lang, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine and Tech for Liberation, spoke about Cal Poly’s Flock cameras. 

“Tech for Liberation demands the Flock cameras to be removed on campus. That deliberation demands that the Board of Directors call a public hearing to question the use of Flock cameras on campus. And we are not a small movement; the students have made their position clear. 1,475 signatures on a petition,” Lang said.

Junior electrical engineering major and Tech for Liberation member, Madison Roth said,“We need a Cal Poly administration and a government that actually represents the whole of students. Right now, Cal Poly admin is only accountable to the Board of Trustees.”

Roth has been volunteering for Ma as a college fellow. 

 “If we want admin to actually be accountable to students, like Jeffrey Armstrong, we need people like Oliver Ma in power. People who are grassroots activists, lawyers, educators, actually in those positions of power.” 

Despite the issues raised throughout the rally, Ma expressed optimism about the future. 

“There’s a lot happening in the world of politics and it can be very depressing. It can be very draining. But it is also an incredible time to be hopeful,” Ma said. “When people get activated, when they organize, when they build power, is when we change people’s hearts and minds.”