More than 20 Cal Poly students rallied along Highland Drive Monday morning in opposition to a proposal that could transform approximately 18 acres of university farmland into a new mixed-use development.
Students cheered, waved signs and encouraged passing drivers to honk as they protested the potential development, which could include student and faculty housing, retail businesses and a grocery store.
Other possibilities being considered include a hotel, conference center and event space.
Cal Poly senior Callum Graham helped organize the rally and said one of the group's goals was to reach students who may not know about the proposal.
“Because, as of now, the vast majority of students who care about this are in CAFES, which is the agriculture school, which would obviously be affected by the development,” Graham said.
Among those agricultural students is Patrick Kleier, a plant sciences major who works on the land and has also used it for class labs.
Kleier did not attend Monday's protest but said he supports the students' efforts to raise awareness.
“We definitely need people out here protesting, doing stuff like that, so everyone knows what’s going on,” Kleier said.
Several students at the rally said they are concerned the potential development could undermine Cal Poly's “Learn by Doing” philosophy by reducing space available for hands-on learning.
“Incoming freshmen aren’t going to want to come here if Learn by Doing opportunities are being paved over,” Cal Poly senior Ava Curtis said.
Cal Poly sophomore Amanda Zorick said she would rather see the university invest in its existing facilities.
“I think we should divert the resources that would be used to bulldoze this land that students currently work on every day and use it to upgrade the resources we already have on campus,” Zorick said.
Some students acknowledged there could be benefits to parts of the proposal, particularly additional housing and improved campus facilities.
“We are trying to expand different dorms. We don’t really have a great conference center on campus,” senior Julie Sporleder said.
Senior Maddie Webb also said more housing could benefit students.
“I do think more student housing would be amazing,” Webb said.
Cal Poly has maintained that the project would enhance “Learn by Doing” by creating opportunities for students across a variety of disciplines. The university has also said any agricultural land used for the project would be replaced elsewhere.
KSBY reached out to Cal Poly for a response to the protest. University officials said they had no new information to share but expect to provide an update in the coming days.
The university has also launched a West Campus survey where students and other community members can provide feedback on the potential development.
