After the United States and Israel bombed Iran, Chico community members rallied at Trinity Lawn to protest a lack of congressional approval for the war in Iran. 

The protest was intended to bring awareness about the possibility of the California State University system indirectly “supporting” Israel through mutual funds and bonds, said James Carlson, co-lead for Students for Justice in Palestine.

Students For Justice In Palestine hosted this protest. The beginning of the protest began with Carlson speaking against the current administration’s actions taken in Iran and the lack of transparency of investments from Chico State regarding “aiding” Israel. 

The protest started with a small group of people, sharing one goal: to speak out against the war in Iran. 

Though Carlson didn’t expect a huge number of people to attend, about 40 protesters came to the lawn with a mixture of signs with slogans such as “no war on Iran,” and “hands off Iran,” along with other anti-war sentiments against the United States engagement with Iran.

The protesters were angry and upset, which they vocalized publicly as they stood in unity against the war.

The participants of the protest were a mixture of community members and students. Most of the participants involved were members from various activist organizations and the community.

Gallery // 6 Photos

(Dash Ferrero/The Orion)

James Carlson (right), a senior in History and co-lead of Chico Students for Justice in Palestine, with attendees of a "Hands off Iran" rally Monday, Mar. 1, 2026 in Chico, Calif. Protestors at the rally, formed in response to strikes in Iran by the United States and Israel over the weekend, called for an end to American interventionism in the Middle East and for Chico State and the CSU system to divest from any investments in Israeli companies. (Dash Ferrero/The Orion)

During the protest, Carlson let participants voice out their opinions; one of them was Bill Bynum, a member of Veterans Action Group. 

“Congress is asleep at the wheel, and going forward, we have to hold this regime, this Trump fascist regime, accountable for all these illegal, unconstitutional actions,” Bynum said.

Protestors collectively felt a need for more student involvement in protests. One of them, Bruce Mclean, said he hopes students realize they’re here to encourage them to protest. 

“I understand why so many students aren’t here; they’re intimidated,” Mclean said.

But this isn’t the first protest that the university has seen of late. Recently, the Trump administration has come under fire for its actions against immigrants, sparking several on-campus protests against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.  

There were times when protesters would heckle against some of the points Carlson said regarding “ICE is trained by Israel dealing with public unrest,” deeming it as “inflammatory” and “being made up.”

Carlson said that the CSU system may be engaging in “supporting” the war indirectly through the purchases of bonds and mutual funds. 

Mutual funds are when investors — such as the university — put their money into one “pot” of money. An entity that owns that “pot” of money then invests it in various stocks. The investors in that “pot” gain profits from the stocks the “pot” owners invest in.

A bond is where someone agrees to lend money (similar to loan functionality) to a company or a government and they acquire interest for a certain length of time.

“It’s impossible to know exactly where all mutual fund money goes but, based on our analysis, we don’t think we are very invested into Israel,” said Andrew Staples, public relations director.

Brenden Masson and Aiden Masson can be reached at [email protected]