On Monday, Nov. 2, clubs such as the Young Democratic Socialists, Tech for Liberation, Sunrise and the Sierra Club held a protest in opposition to the potential development of Class I soil farmland on Cal Poly’s West Campus.
The protest was held on Highland Drive across from the new Plant Sciences building and in front of the acreage being considered for development.
During the protest, students held a banner reading “Save Our Soil,” raised handmade posters and encouraged drivers passing by to honk in support.
Callum Graham, vice president of the Sierra Club and an environmental management and protection senior, emphasized the importance of holding the protest as soon as possible after last month’s student listening session with President Jeffrey Armstrong and before a decision is made on whether to move forward with the development.
“We wanted to get out here early, make our presence known. And from here, honestly, you can only get bigger,” Graham said. “All the people that were stopping are stoked about it and we’re getting lots of honks. So we’re gonna try to keep building this momentum.”
The protest was funded by Highland Drive resident Bruce Judson, who attended the event. Judson started working in conservation after helping preserve trees downtown and decided to get involved in the development opposition effort because of its proximity to his home.
“We live on Highland Drive, and it’s really gonna impact us,” Judson said. “Right now, it’s congested in the morning and with this development that is traffic heavy with the hotel, and with the grocery store, and with extra residences and all this, it’s just gonna make it worse.”
With the development decision expected this month, the Sierra Club is currently drafting a joint resolution against the development in collaboration with other clubs on campus and has more events planned to garner support.
Ahead of the decision, students have continually shown their opposition to the development through action by showing up in numbers at the student listening session in October and creating as much visibility to the issue as possible with the protest.
One of those students is Ava Curtis, an agricultural sciences senior, who attended the protest.
“I’m just one person, in one class, in one quarter, or now semester, and so many other people have been impacted by these orchards and these fields, and I want that impact and experience to keep happening,” Curtis said.