Hundreds of students gathered on Library Walk Feb. 24 to protest what they described as “a hostile and toxic climate for people of color” at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  Black students traveled from San Diego State University, UC Los Angeles, UC Riverside and California State University, San Bernardino to show their solidarity. High school students from Lincoln took the stage to express their support. Students dressed in black and wore T-shirts that read “Real Pain, Real Action.” Students and a few faculty members blamed the administration for not acting on race-related concerns that black and Hispanic students had brought to the attention of administrators a few years ago. “The Compton Cookout and the racist dribble broadcasted on SRTV are indicative of a broader campus climate of hostility and neglect,” said Daniel Widener, associate professor of history. Black Student Union Chair David Ritcherson issued an ultimatum to the university to respond to its 32 demands with a detailed plan by March 4 in a face-to-face meeting at Library Walk. “If our demands are not addressed, African-American students and their allies will be forced to send out a public call to other universities to provide us an educational climate free from hostility, intimidation that UCSD refuses to provide,” Ritcherson said. Black faculty issued a statement calling on the university to punish the fraternity members who organized the party. “Real redress will not be cheap, but it will be cheaper than the cost of ignoring our demands,” Widener said. The director of the Chicano/a & Latino/a Arts & Humanities Program, Jorge Mariscal, said he wrote a report several years ago claiming the campus was hostile for black and brown students. Fourth-year student Mar Velez, who serves on the Chicano/Chicana Concillio, described her experience:    “The ‘Compton Cookout’ party is a mere window into the kind of exclusion, hostility and marginalization that we students of color have to endure on a day-to-day basis at this campus,” Velez said.