Cheers erupted outside Cheadle Hall on June 2 when protestors were informed by UC Santa Barbara administration that Las Maestras Center would remain open.

Founded in 2017 by UCSB professors Celia Herrera Rodríguez and Cherríe Moraga, Las Maestras Center (LMC) aims to “help Latinx communities, and all those who pass through [its] door, come to remember and acknowledge their origins through the act of art making and critical collective thought,” according to its website. The center also frequently collaborates with the local Chumash community.

According to an email from Keyli Cortinez-Vences sent to the Daily Nexus, because Rodríguez and Moraga recently retired, “the university [was] considering the center as subject for termination, saying the space [was] no longer being used and asking that the keys to the center be returned by June 30th.” In the week leading up to the protest, organizers gathered 777 petition signatures and community members sent letters and emails to UCSB administrators demanding the center remain open.

The rally began around 12:30 p.m. along the walkway between South Hall and Storke Tower with about 50 people in attendance. Protestors, some holding signs, ukuleles and incense, chanted “Save our center, save our pride, you can’t push us to the side,” “LMC, LMC, keep our roots and dignity” and “Las Maestras Center, you can’t enter” among other things.

A Unión del Barrio (UdB) member spoke first, saying that “institutions of higher education are not created for people of color.” He criticized the current federal administration and “people who are complicit on this campus” for divesting from cultural centers, expressing concern that the closure of one cultural center would pave the way for the closure of other centers and resources.

“The only thing that has ever saved centers, that has ever gotten us centers like Las Maestras Center, has been direct action. The only reason why there is a sea of Black and brown people right here is because people in earlier decades, they put their bodies on the line,” the UdB member said. “They starved themselves. They risked getting arrested. Some of them even got arrested, right? But they did it because they had love. They didn’t even know you, but they had love for you. They had love for me. That’s why we’re here on this campus: radical love. Let’s keep that love going.”

Next, organizer and graduate student in the Chicana and Chicano Studies department, John Jairo Valencia, led attendees as they sang, “We want LMC, que vivan los estudiantes, que vivan las maestras, we want LMC,” to the tune of “La Guacamaya” on ukulele. 

Following this, organizers allowed attendees to share testimonials about LMC. The UdB member explained that testimonials, or “testimonios,” have roots in Latin American social movements where activists would share their lived experiences in order to “speak truth to power.” 

The first person to discuss their experiences with LMC said that they discovered it was closing the first time they went to the center.

“The type of knowledge that is curated and that is legitimized in this space, it’s incredibly important,” the attendee said. “This is a space where we can acknowledge and recognize earth-based spirituality. It’s a place where we can bridge connections to the local community and our local Chumash community members, and learn from them. It’s a space where we can create and cultivate new experiences that are rooted in culture.”

Associate professor in the Chicana and Chicano Studies department, Micaela Díaz-Sánchez, called on university administration to recognize that “art and spirituality are in fact research-making methodologies.” 

Another attendee spoke about the power they believe a community united towards a goal has.

“I see furious people. I see mad people. I see passionate people. Most of all, most importantly, I see a family. I see a family of people who want to keep this place open. Who’ve never been here who want to keep this place open. That’s the magic. That’s the beauty of it,” the attendee said. “We’re gonna keep this space open no matter what they say. The power is in the students. The power is in the people. They think they have all the power in the world, [but] it belongs to us.”

Valencia spoke last, recalling how Black studies, Chicana/o studies, Asian American studies and Native American studies departments exist because of student organizing. He described broader attacks on higher education, highlighting in particular the University of Texas at Austin’s consolidation of multiple ethnic and gender studies departments.

“This authoritarian system has been dismantling our programs for people of color, for Black [people], Indigenous people, for queer [people], Two-Spirit [people and] trans people,” Valencia said. “Its a small little place, but if they’re able to close down one center, who’s to say they will not close down others as they have tried to in the past couple of years.”

Protestors then marched in and around Girvetz Hall before entering South Hall in a single-file line and ascending to the second floor, chanting, banging on walls and putting up posters along the way. After exiting South Hall, protestors walked by the Arbor before arriving at Cheadle Hall, where Chancellor Dennis Assanis’ office is located.

Once at Cheadle, protestors called on Assanis to come out, shouting “Dennis the menace,” and laid out signs on the ground facing the building with the words “Keep Las Maestras Center Open.” Next, protestors shared more testimonies about LMC.

Díaz-Sánchez and Valencia then read a statement they had just received from Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts Daina Ramey Berry in consultation with Rodríguez and Moraga. They announced that LMC would remain open in its current location in South Hall 1415, to which the crowd cheered. While Valencia acknowledged the victory, they emphasized that the protection of cultural spaces is an ongoing fight.

“This is a space that we need to keep fighting for, and our many other spaces on campus that are still under threat,” Valencia said. “We’re gonna continue our work and continue the effort that many of you have been fighting for beyond this space and have been continuing to organize, and we appreciate you coming out there.”

Levi Kauffman

Levi Kauffman (he/him) is the County News Editor for the 2025-2026 school year. Previously, Kauffman was an Assistant News Editor, as well as a Staff Writer for the 2024-2025 school year. He can be reached at levikauffman@dailynexus.com or news@dailynexus.com.