Update: The CFA Instagram post refers to union president Toombs’ public comment during the Cal State Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning, according to CFA communications specialist Michelle Hatfield.
California Faculty Association (CFA) President Charles Toombs demands the Cal State system to retract its interim time, place and manner policy, in a new Instagram post from the union.
Other groups cited in the caption are said to oppose this policy, including the Academic Senate of the CSU, Cal State unions like CSUEU and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
Issued on Aug. 15, the Cal State interim time, place and manner policy regulates various aspects of free speech activities on campus, such as banning encampments and restricting masks and facial coverings meant to hide one’s identity.
There was no prior systemwide policy but campuses had their own free speech policies, Cal State spokesperson Hazel said in a statement to Edsource.
This policy is currently in effect for students, non-union represented employees and members of the public, according to the policy FAQ page. However, the policy will only impact union-represented employees once the system completes the meet and confer process with unions such as CFA and the CSUEU.
The Cal State Board of Trustees has not scheduled a meet and confer for this policy, CFA-SLO president Lisa Kawamura said in an interview on Sept. 20.
On Sept. 4, CFA filed charges against the Trustees, alleging a violation of state labor relations law, according to the union’s press release. The charge states that the system “failed to bargain in good faith” by falsely claiming the new policy to be in effect for the entire system.
In addition to his CFA presidency, Toombs serves as an academic freedom committee member for AAUP, according to a Cal State service award biography. Toombs believes the policy’s enforcement will further silence students of color in their struggle for social justice.
“The Interim TPM policy is yet another systemic example of how the CSU administration devalues and disrespects the current generation of majority students of color: they are to be locked down; their behavior to voice their rights of the freedom of expression is criminalized; they are to be controlled; they are told to shut up and be quiet,” Toombs said in the post.
