Feb. 11 marked a popular day for student activities- the homecoming rally, the iPod kiss contest and the Rock Out/Walk Out event. But the simultaneous events drew attention away from some others.

Many of the student organizations were in the dark about everything taking place. The quad was packed with walk-out participants protesting the budget cuts, athletes showing their Gator pride, and onlookers who may or may not have had any idea what was taking place.

Around noon, students began gathering, and music played loudly in the quad. From the grassy area between Malcolm X Plaza and the Business building came music from a different source. A group of students, armed with a large speaker on wheels, began to dance and chant.

The SF State chapter of the International Socialist Organization was primarily responsible for what they called the Rock Out/Walk Out, an event promoted on Facebook as a day to "dance our worries away and live at a university where we make the rules for a day, and realize the possibilities of a student-worker run university." The focus of the demonstration was to protest of budget cuts and fee hikes.

"I think it will be effective in the way they want it to be, and the students who feel strongly and in the same way will respond," said music major Nicholas Hamlin, 19.
They pushed the speaker throughout the quad, dancing as they went. Gradually other students began to join.

"It's been a really active day on campus. Very collegiate," University Spokesperson Ellen Griffin said while watching the festivities.

As the dancers pushed the speaker around campus, the homecoming rally began to get underway. The men's basketball and wrestling teams were introduced first, followed by the SFSU Capoeira group, a Brazilian form of dance fighting that involves music, acrobatics and combat. The Capoeristas, as they are called, are a small 14-member group, who perform at events like Homecoming in order to "show SFSU what they are all about," the club President Marco Morales said.

While the homecoming rally was in full swing, the protest dancers took a break from breaking it down.

"I think it would have been more effective if we knew about it. It wasn't advertised enough. But if I wasn't in my sorority, I would probably be there with them," 23-year-old Yael Tygien said.

"It's still the beginning," said participant Emily Caruso, 19. "It was difficult to orient students to our cause, and I would have liked to see more personal conversations with other students, especially the student body and other organizations," she said.
"Our main goal is more cohesion and more debates- but we have a lot of convincing to do."

And it was only the beginning. After 12:30, the protestors came back to the plaza, this time armed with a mega phone and signs stating their cause. One large banner read "Shut it down like '68," in reference to the SF State riots that closed the campus, due in large part to the same budget cuts the CSU system is facing today.

"I don't think anything is effective, but something is always better than nothing," Camilo Bolds, 26, said about the protest.

As they marched through the quad, other student contestants began to line up for the "iPod Kiss" competition, sponsored by the SFSU Bookstore. Couples lined up in two lines facing one another, ready to adhere their lips to an iPod case, and hope they could smooch it for the longest time.

Amidst the commotion of the couples, 22-year-old Forest Stone was busy campaigning for Homecoming King, dressed in a long, thick brown fur coat and tie-dye shirt. "I didn't even know we had a homecoming king," he said.

"I've been able to meet a lot of people and convince them to vote for me. I don't want to beat anyone else, but I would like to graciously come out ahead, " said Stone. The king and queen will be revealed Friday evening at the men's and women's basketball games.

Following the iPod competition, both the homecoming rally and protest march slowly came to a halt, as the crowd in Malcolm X began dispersing.

"It was a pretty good turnout, and the students seemed really happy," said SF State spirit coordinator Jamil Sheared.

"Next time, I would like to pull more students in, especially ones that are not directly involved with the Greek and athletic programs, and that don't feel like part of the group," Sheared said.

"We planned an action, and I did the best I could," Caruso said about the protest. "It would have been nice to have more knowledge of other student events though."