A hateful message that was recently written on a restroom wall at Cal State Long Beach has prompted a joint response from the university’s president and student body leader.

The message appeared to be located in the men’s restroom in the Liberal Arts Building 5, said CSULB spokeswoman Terri Carbaugh.

Carbaugh did not specify when the message was found but did confirm a photo of the message has been circulating online since last week. The message read: wetback lives don’t matter.

In an email to the campus community on Monday, CSULB President Jane Close Conoley and ASI President Marvin Flores responded to the “despicable and cowardly message,” stating that CSULB and ASI stand in solidarity with students, faculty and staff in “speaking and acting against challenges that seek to marginalize and oppress them.”

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“We will honor the historical struggles of our different intersectional identities and celebrate our differences,” the email stated. “We stand together in unity against racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, ableism, ageism and every form of systematic oppression. We are a community that supports differences and one that challenges all to think critically and act inclusively. Hateful actions have no place on our campus and will not be tolerated.”


 

The email comes a day before CSULB professors begin hosting a series of “teach-ins” this semester in response to concerns surrounding the rhetoric and actions of President Donald J. Trump.

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.