Law mandates breaks, cancellations for hot weather
Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published August 29, 2024 10:00 AM
California is now one of at least 25 states to require high school athletic programs to adapt to the heat.
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Topline:
California schools must now monitor the heat and adjust athletic practices and games according to new policies developed by the state's high school sports governing body and mandated by state law.
Why it matters: Heat was responsible for nearly 20% of high school and college athletic catastrophic injuries in the most recent year studied by researchers at the University of North Carolina.
Put down the mercury thermometer: The new rules are based on readings from a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer. The device measures how heat stresses the human body by calculating the impact of the temperature, humidity, wind, and strength of the sun.
Read more... for details on how enforcement works and how school's are responding.
California schools must now monitor the heat and adjust athletic practices and games according to new policies developed by the state's high school sports governing body and mandated by state law.
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New high school sports rules mandate more breaks, water, cancellations in heat
“The goal is that we don't have any more fatalities due to what is an entirely 100% preventable issue, which is heat stress and heat related illness,” said Mike West, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section’s commissioner of athletics.
Districts have purchased new equipment and changed how and when student athletes practice to comply with the new policy.
“We're not against this policy,” said St. Francis High School head athletic trainer Eli Hallak. “We think it's the right thing to do. We just think there's some tweaks that need to happen to make it fair and equitable for all schools.”
A new way to measure temperature
California is now one of at least 25 states to require high school athletic programs to adapt to the heat.
Signs of heat-related illness
Heat stroke is a potentially fatal heat-related illness and occurs when the body can no longer cool itself. The onset can be sudden or gradual and symptoms include:
Essentially, the hotter the temperature, the more breaks players need and the less protective gear they can wear during practice. Games and practices must be moved or canceled when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold.
A higher basic air temperature doesn’t necessarily correlate with a higher Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading.
“You can practice in a higher temperature, as long as that humidity is low and there's some wind,” West said. “Whereas, a lower temperature with higher humidity and the wind not being a factor, can really make things a little bit more unsafe.”
West said CIF provided grants this summer to help schools purchase the $750 to $800 thermometers. One manufacturer is offering a discounted kit to California schools though shipping is currently delayed because of high demand.
The second factor is based on the campus’s location. Schools are assigned one of three categories based on their region — most Los Angeles schools are in Category 1.
The guidelines describe the course of action at five different levels ranging from green (normal activity) to black (no outdoor workouts and events allowed). A school’s category determines the Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer temperature threshold for each level.
LAist talked to Hallak, earlier this week from his office at the all-boys Catholic high school in La Cañada where he's also the director of health services and sports medicine. He pulled up the readings from the campus’ weather station at around 4:30 p.m. on a sunny afternoon.
The basic air temperature was 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading was 80.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
St. Francis, like most schools in the Los Angeles metro area, is considered “Category 1.” This put the school in the second, or yellow, level, which requires increasing the length of the three-times-an-hour rest breaks to four minutes and “using discretion” for long and intense practices.
The school has already shifted several workouts to comply with the heat illness guidelines and there’s a concern that pushing practice too far into the evening or early in the morning could disrupt students’ schedules or that they could miss valuable preparation time altogether.
Hallak said it’s not clear why a San Gabriel Valley school shares the same category as campuses in cooler coastal climes like Palos Verdes and Santa Monica. The school is requesting a change in designation from CIF. San Diego schools have raised similar concerns.
“Every athlete should have a chance to play, but play safely,” Hallak said.
Information for parents and families
How to check the weather at your child’s school: Find the forecast for their region on the National Weather Service website— choose “Wet Bulb Globe Temperature” from the dropdown menu at the top of the map.
Questions to ask your school:
Do you have a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer? If not, how are you monitoring the temperature?
How are you monitoring air quality?
What is the school’s emergency action plan for heat illness? Per state law, schools are required to write out procedures to follow if someone gets sick from the heat during an athletic event.
Hallak, at St. Francis, also says parents should check in with their kids, particularly when they’re just starting a sport.
“You know your son better than most coaches, you know your daughter better than most coaches,” Hallak said. “Are they eating right? Are they drinking right? Are they rehydrating after practices?”
CIF provided the new guidelines to all schools and is responsible for enforcing the new heat illness rules, but typically doesn’t investigate unless there is a complaint. Repeated, substantiated violations could result in fines, suspensions or other penalties to a school’s athletic program.
Americans have a new way to invest in their kids' futures: Trump Accounts launched over the weekend. Congress approved them last year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Who qualifies: If you have a child born between 2025 and the end of 2028, financial advisors say signing up for a Trump Account should be a simple decision for one reason: The child's account will automatically get a $1,000 seed contribution from the federal government. The money in these accounts will be invested in an index fund that broadly tracks the stock market. Any American citizen under age 18 can have an account, and once they turn 18, they can access that money for things like education or buying a house.
Kids born before that window aren't completely out of luck: Millions of children under age 11 will still get $250. That comes from more than $6.25 billion donated by Michael and Susan Dell of Dell Technologies. That money will only go to children who don't qualify for the federal contribution. To qualify, their families must also live in zip codes where the median family income is under $150,000.
Read on... for other things to consider when planning to save for your children.
Americans have a new way to invest in their kids' futures: Trump Accounts launched over the weekend. Congress approved them last year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans' tax and spending law. They function similarly to retirement accounts, but instead of being for adults preparing for their senior years, they're for assisting kids with the start of their adult lives.
The money in these accounts will be invested in an index fund that broadly tracks the stock market. Any American citizen under age 18 can have an account, and once they turn 18, they can access that money for things like education or buying a house. (The money can also be used for other purchases, but that comes with a tax penalty.)
The accounts function as a kind of digital "donation bucket" that many people can contribute to — kids' families, but also philanthropists, their parents' employers, and even the government. Contributions from family and other adults in the children's lives are made in after-tax dollars; contributions from others, such as employers or the government, are pre-tax. The child will only pay tax on the investment's growth once they withdraw the funding.
But there are already plenty of other options for parents to invest in, from education saving plans to their own retirement accounts. So should you sign up your family for Trump accounts? Here are four things to consider.
Your child could get free money from the federal government
If you have a child born between 2025 and the end of 2028, financial advisors say signing up for a Trump Account should be a simple decision for one reason: The child's account will automatically get a $1,000 seed contribution from the federal government.
Financial planner Michael Reynolds with Indiana's Elevation Financial did the math for Morning Edition and said that, even without any additional investments, that $1,000 would become almost $4,000 by the time a kid turns 18. (That's assuming an 8% rate of return and doesn't count the income tax that has to be paid on the growth and initial federal contribution.)
Your kid might be eligible for other donations
Kids born before that window are not completely out of luck. Millions of them under age 11 will still get $250. That comes from more than $6.25 billion donated by Michael and Susan Dell of Dell Technologies.
That money will only go to children who don't qualify for the federal contribution. To qualify, their families must also live in zip codes where the median family income is under $150,000.
And if your children don't qualify for the Dell donation, there are other options that could come your way.
Some companies are also offering contributions, like the memory chip maker Micron. It's giving $250 to up to a million children living near some of its worksites in states like Minnesota, California and New York, as a way to support the local workforce and community. Micron will also match employee donations to their own children's accounts, up to $1,000 per kid.
Other companies, including Mastercard, Uber and Visa, are also offering matches to employees.
That includes some small businesses, too. "We're going to try it out," said Luke Delorme, co-owner and director of financial planning at the finance firm Tableaux Wealth. "Maybe it'll fit into their financial picture in the future in some meaningful way."
Consider your own retirement funding first
Parents should also prioritize their own retirement before putting money away for their kids' retirement, said Carrie Joy Grimes, CEO of the nonprofit personal finance company WorkMoney.
She suggests parents max out their own retirement accounts before other options, "because what happens is we put money into our kids' stuff, and then we end up needing help in retirement — and that is a way worse financial stress on our kids."
Your kids may also benefit from a 529 education plan
Parents can already choose to invest for their children's futures through 529 savings plans. As with Trump accounts, family members can contribute to these plans with post-tax dollars.But there are differences. First, 529 plans allow kids to withdraw the money tax-free. And second, that money can only be used for education.
Parents can opt for both. Financial advisors say how families can benefit from Trump Accounts will depend on their financial situation. For wealthier families with parents who can already afford to max out their retirement accounts and put aside money in a 529, Trump Accounts are essentially an extra tax benefit for their kids.
Ray Boshara, a senior policy advisor at the Aspen Institute, says that lower-income families will primarily benefit from having that digital donation bucket that can accrue contributions for their kids. Those children might be able to start their adult lives with thousands of dollars they otherwise wouldn't have had.
"These accounts will be transformative for them," Boshara says.
Note: Dell Technologies is a financial supporter of NPR.
Libby Rainey
has been following the World Cup in Los Angeles.
Published July 8, 2026 2:19 PM
All eight of the Southern California matches will be at SoFi Stadium, or L.A. Stadium, as it will be called during the World Cup.
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Topline:
As Los Angeles revels in the World Cup, advocates who operate an ICE rapid-response hotline say they've seen an uptick in calls for help.
The numbers: In June, Immigrant Defenders Law Center reported that its emergency phone line offering legal resources received nearly 900 calls — the second-highest number of calls in a single month this year.
The context: The increase comes after months of concern over how ICE might interfere with the tournament. Despite fears, so far there have not been reports of immigration activity at the stadium or fan events. Immigration agents have been spotted outside SoFi Stadium during the matches hosted in L.A., but their presence has not appeared to include enforcement.
What advocates are saying: "I'm so happy that ICE hasn't ruined the World Cup by doing these mass raids, but they are still doing them piecemeal and one by one," attorney Sarah Houston said. " In the background, the administration is still there, and these things are still happening. They're just not happening at SoFi Stadium."
Read on ... for more on ICE's role in the World Cup.
As Los Angeles revels in the World Cup, advocates who operate an ICE rapid-response hotline say they've seen an uptick in calls for help.
In June, Immigrant Defenders Law Center reported that its emergency phone line offering legal resources received nearly 900 calls — the second-highest number of calls in a single month this year. Sarah Houston, the attorney who oversees responses to that hotline, said July was on track to potentially be even higher.
The increase comes after months of concern over how ICE might interfere with the tournament. Despite fears, so far there have not been reports of immigration activity at the stadium or fan events. Immigration agents have been spotted outside SoFi Stadium during the matches hosted in L.A., but their presence has not appeared to include enforcement.
Instead, Houston said the daily drumbeat of arrests has continued across Los Angeles.
"I'm so happy that ICE hasn't ruined the World Cup by doing these mass raids, but they are still doing them piecemeal and one by one," she said. " In the background, the administration is still there, and these things are still happening. They're just not happening at SoFi Stadium."
Houston said recent reports that her office has received included a father who was arrested at a routine immigration check in in downtown Los Angeles in front of his wife and child and a man who was injured and later hospitalized after ICE arrested him in Burbank.
Minky Worden, director of Global Initiatives for Human Rights Watch, said the spike taints the celebrations of the World Cup around the country, where communities have welcomed fans and teams from around the globe.
"We have to look at the full context of these events. The soccer could be great. Your favorite team could be winning. The Mexico jerseys were just the best. … But what's happening behind the scenes?" she said. "Is the beautiful game covering up an ugly escalation of ICE arrests?"
Human Rights Watch had called for an "ICE Truce" after reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would play a key role in tournament security, but FIFA and the federal government made no guarantees.
In a statement provided by the Department of Homeland Security, acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis confirmed that the department was involved in policing the World Cup.
“The safety and security of the American people and the millions of visitors attending these events remain our highest priority," Bis said in a statement. “International visitors who legally come to the United States for the World Cup have nothing to worry about. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S. — full stop."
SoFi Stadium's food and beverage workers had threatened to strike over ICE's presence at the World Cup and made a deal with their employer averting the labor action just before the tournament started. Their new contract includes the right to walk off the job over safety concerns, including the presence of immigration agents at the workplace.
So far, workers have felt safe on the job, despite spotting ICE and Homeland Security agents on the stadium's perimeter, according to Kurt Petersen, co-president of their union, Unite Here Local 11.
But outside of the stadium, he said many of them have been affected by immigration enforcement in Los Angeles since the immigration raids that started last summer. Petersen said one union member was recently released from a detention center after being arrested on the street in front of his family.
" Raids are continuing, right? People are being kidnapped off the streets," Petersen said. " This is by no means something that has ended."
The final World Cup match in Los Angeles is this Friday.
Rapid response networks and legal aid
Local rapid response networks can be contacted for immediate legal support.
Los Angeles Rapid Response Network: (888) 624-4752
USC Agents of Change created a free hotline to help people file motions to move their in-person immigration hearing appointments online. The service is available in English and Spanish. Call (888) 462-5211
VietRISE has information and resources for Vietnamese community members facing deportation and those supporting them.
Immigrant Defenders Law Center is available to support community members detained by ICE and their families. Call (213) 833-8283, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Immigration Advocates Network offers a database to find legal services near you. The database includes nonprofits that offer free or low-cost legal services.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network is connecting jornaleros detained by ICE legal resources and mutual aid. If you know a laborer who has been detained, call (626) 799-3566
The Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project offers free legal representation for immigrants, with a focus on helping children and families. Find more information on their website, and for general inquiries, call (213) 534-7594.
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles offers free legal assistance for low-income immigrants in over eight languages, including for inquiries about asylum, DACA, naturalization and visas. You can find whether you qualify for legal assistance here.
Southwestern Law School’s immigration law clinic provides free legal representation to low-income children and adults with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (clients under the age of 21), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (renewals only), U visas nonimmigrant status and U-based adjustment of status cases. Call (213) 738-5574 or email immigrationclinic@swlaw.edu.
The Public Law Center in Santa Ana assists low-income residents of Orange County in filing for immigration relief and with deportation defense. Call (714) 541-1010, ext. 332, and leave a voicemail to request an appointment.
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CA colleges reveal their military weapons stockade
By Phoebe Huss | CalMatters
Published July 8, 2026 2:00 PM
A University of California campus police officer pushes a pro-Palestinian protester away from a moving San Diego Sheriff's bus with arrested protesters onboard at UC San Diego in San Diego on May 6, 2024.
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Topline:
According to state law, campus police can own military weapons to uphold safety as long as they report it to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into all 148 public colleges and universities in California.
More details: Each campus’s state or district governing board — which gives permission for police to procure such items — has to annually re-approve a use policy, a chronicle of when the equipment has been used and an inventory. Once the report is approved and published online, campus police have 30 days to hold a conveniently located and “well-publicized” forum for the public to learn about and give feedback on the equipment, according to state law.
Questions prompt campuses to act: Several campus police departments created reports after CalMatters’ inquiries, though the law requires the documents to be posted online as long as the equipment is usable. Not all reports or policies contained the details mandated by the 2021 law; in many cases campuses left out information, including manufacturers’ product descriptions, up-to-date inventories and equipment quantities. The University of California Board of Regents approved UC Berkeley’s annual report last September, but university police only published their equipment list on April 7, after four CalMatters inquiries.
Read on... for more on California colleges revealing their military weapons stockade.
For many public colleges and universities in California, keeping their campuses safe includes owning military-grade weaponry — AR-15s, stun grenades designed to cause temporary blindness and sonic weapons that resonate so loudly they are known in the armed forces as the voice of God.
According to state law, campus police can only own military equipment if the college believes there is no other way to uphold civilian safety.
That law, which passed in 2021, also requires police to make all their equipment dealings exceedingly clear to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into all 148 public campuses in the California Community Colleges, University of California, and California State University systems.
Each campus’s state or district governing board — which gives permission for police to procure such items — has to annually re-approve a use policy, a chronicle of when the equipment has been used and an inventory. Once the report is approved and published online, campus police have 30 days to hold a conveniently located and “well-publicized” forum for the public to learn about and give feedback on the equipment, according to state law.
CalMatters attempted to compile the 2025 annual reports and use policies from every public higher education police department in the state that owns military equipment. Here is what we found.
Questions prompt campuses to act
Several campus police departments created reports after CalMatters’ inquiries, though the law requires the documents to be posted online as long as the equipment is usable. Not all reports or policies contained the details mandated by the 2021 law; in many cases campuses left out information, including manufacturers’ product descriptions, up-to-date inventories and equipment quantities. The University of California Board of Regents approved UC Berkeley’s annual report last September, but university police only published their equipment list on April 7, after four CalMatters inquiries.
According to their own reports, San Jose State University and San Francisco State University own AR-15s even though Cal State’s policy does not authorize it. Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said these AR-15s are standard issue, which would exempt them from the reporting requirement, even though San Jose’s report classifies them as specializedfirearms and university police departments determine what equipment is standard issue. San Francisco’s semi automatic rifles are standard issue and won’t be listed in the annual report going forward, university spokesperson Robert King said.
Campus police also must submit their yearly report to their district or state governing boards. Chico State and Cal State Northridge police said their reports are sent to the Cal State chancellor’s office, which the systemwide policy requires. But Klarissa Garcia, executive assistant to the chief of police at Cal State Dominguez Hills, said her department does not submit its report to any governing body.
University of California campus police officers talk amongst each other while a San Diego Sheriff’s officer holds a weapon behind them during a pro-Palestinian protest at UC San Diego in San Diego on May 6, 2024.
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Multiple police departments said they did not hold a campus forum in 2025, including Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State Sonoma, nor did they respond to inquiries about when the required public meeting was held. Many departments said they held meetings, but did not answer questions about how they publicized them, or said they posted announcements on social media without any record of it on their accounts.
The Cal State Board of Trustees has not reviewed the systemwide equipment policy at a public meeting since 2022, though the policy is supposed to be renewed at least annually. Under the policy the board adopted, the trustees only need to check the policy again if the university system wants to authorize new types of equipment, Bentley-Smith told CalMatters. She added that Cal State will re-examine the policy to ensure it follows the law.
Bentley-Smith also said that the AR-15s at Cal State’s San Jose and San Francisco campuses are standard issue, which would exempt them from the reporting requirement, even though San Jose’s report classifies them as specializedfirearms.
Several community colleges were missing military equipment policies and reports when questioned by CalMatters. The college system’s chancellor’s office does not track whether colleges follow the transparency law, according to its communications specialist Melissa Villarin.
CalMatters used annual reports to create a mass inventory of the equipment found at California higher education institutions, which includes hundreds of semi-automatic rifles, thousands of munitions containing the same chemical as chili peppers, and hundreds of thousands of rifle munitions. Some reports did not list quantities despite the legal requirement, so CalMatters sourced other documents posted to campus websites or directly asked for those figures.
The military equipment law, written by former Democratic Assemblymember David Chiu, now the city attorney of San Francisco, only applies to campus police departments with sworn police officers. Campus safety or security departments with unsworn personnel do not have to report their equipment. Over 40 community colleges told CalMatters they did not file a report.
It’s not just police using military-grade tools. The Cal State Monterey Bay 2025 report states its Emergency Management team owns three camera drones, which, being remotely piloted aircrafts, are classified as military equipment under state law. The Emergency Management team reports to the campus chief of police but is not itself made up of sworn officers, according to interim police chief Yvonne Gordon.
Following CalMatters’ inquiries, several campuses — as well as the Cal State system — said they are hereafter committed to following the military equipment transparency law in its entirety. In addition, some are downsizing their inventory.
Defense-style weaponry in schools
Military equipment forums held at universities are often sparsely attended, according to several police departments. But some students are impassioned about the issue. At a rally outside a UC Board of Regents meeting in January, UCLA’s chapter of the UC Divest Coalition, an anti-imperialism and anti-militarism student group, criticized the regents for spending tuition money on military equipment while the board convened yards away in a school ballroom.
UCLA police use long-range acoustic devices — which emit focused beams of high-volume sound — as giant loudspeakers to broadcast announcements to large crowds. In the 2024-25 school year, the department deployed these “voice of God” tools 71 times, all during crowd management situations, defined by the university as assemblies, protests and demonstrations. Police at UC Santa Cruz used a similar acoustic device to give dispersal orders during the 2024 pro-Palestine student encampments.
UCLA does not use the acoustic devices to produce high-pitched tones, which they are also capable of emitting, said Richard Mejia, the director of emergency communications and information for the university’s campus safety office. But pitch differs from loudness, which is measured in decibels: a long-range acoustic device can produce 160 decibels, and sounds over 120 can cause permanent hearing damage even during a short exposure. The university said it doesn’t prescribe a fixed decibel output, adding that it follows federal and scientific exposure regulations, including those from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which permits sudden noises up to 140 decibels. For reference, a bulldozer emits about 95.
A helicopter flies over a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA on May 1, 2024. Groups of student protesters gathered at the encampment.
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Not all inventoried equipment is approved for use by district or state governing boards. An October 2025 memo from San Jose State University states its police department owns 33 tear gas grenades, which burst into clouds of choking chemicals when released and, for some brands, cause “psychological and physiological effects.” The Cal State military equipment policy does not authorize using grenades to deploy tear gas or oleoresin capsicum, the chili pepper irritant.
These grenades have “always been in our armory,” Captain Jermaine Thomas said. “We will never use them.” He added that the department plans to destroy them, along with the university’s submachine gun, which is also not authorized under Cal State policy.
Bentley-Smith told CalMatters that the submachine gun was never added to the systemwide policy manual because the university never used or requested permission to use it.
Campus forums vary in scope
A promotional website for San Jose State’s 2025 community forum says the event covers current police initiatives without specifically mentioning military equipment, but Thomas said that subject was indeed discussed.
About 21,500 students attend El Camino College in Los Angeles County, which announced its 2025 meeting, held in a gymnasium, during four other meetings held on campus: the College Public Safety and Security Committee, the Academic Senate, the College Council and the President’s Meeting. Police Chief Matthew Vander Horck said about 30 people attended. Meanwhile, Captain Jeffrey Chobanian of the UCLA Police Department, which serves about 49,000 students, said the department used social media to promote its 2025 forum, held on Zoom, but nobody attended.
Some of the forums become question and answer sessions, like the ones held by San Bernardino Community College District police, according to their chief Blake Bonnet. Students and faculty come prepared, read the policy — which includes when and where the equipment can be used — to the officers and press them directly on how it will be enforced, Bonnet said.
Bonnet said he publicizes the annual meeting through the police department’s online newsletter, Just the Facts, which contains crime logs and topical safety tips and is sent to students and staff every month.
“People ask questions and seek clarification,” Bonnet said. “If you don’t understand the police world — which some people do, some people don’t — if you have a question, I would rather you ask so that we can understand your concern.”
At UC Davis’ annual forum, meeting participants have asked about when and why officers can deploy weapons, which necessitates at least annual trainings, and how the equipment is shared with others — since the school has lent drones to other UC campuses for use in crowd control and can borrow equipment from other campuses in preparation for “major” protests and demonstrations. Last year, an attendee asked if other police forces can bring unauthorized military equipment to campus, according to meeting minutes. Captain Mark Brunet responded that they can.
Rage against assault rifles
In February 2025, a Mt. San Antonio College police advisory committee composed of college and police personnel and two students met to discuss adding AR-15s to the department’s arsenal. Before long, other students caught wind of the plans. Student César Tlatoāni Alvarado said fellow students, especially veterans and students of color, were not comfortable with their campus becoming militarized.
“The entire campus was talking about it,” said Tlatoāni Alvarado, who studies political science and world languages and global studies. They also served as the campus’s student trustee for two terms, from 2023 to 2025.
By CalMatters’ count, over 25 public colleges own semi-automatic rifles, which shoot with more precision, accuracy and distance than handguns, according to several school policies.
Tlatoāni Alvarado said they were fearful of the impact of a militarized police force on the campus protesting scene, which they said is active but peaceful.
“I knew for a fact that this was being done to silence dissent on our campus,” Tlatoāni Alvarado said.
University of Sourthern California Public Safety officers tape off an area of Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian protest on campus in Los Angeles on April 24, 2024.
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The student led a coalition of campus clubs to demonstrate against the proposed purchases and vehemently protest at multiple police town halls. That April, nearly 20 students, faculty and alumni condemned the plan to buy AR-15s at the college district’s board of trustees’ monthly meeting. The protestors included the student trustee, who said several hundred students were involved in the overall effort.
“There were so many students that were yelling,” Tlatoāni Alvarado said. “They were screaming at the administration. They were upset, they were frustrated. They felt betrayed.”
As of June 2026, the college does not own semi-automatic rifles. “The discussion is still ongoing” on whether the college will seek them in the future, according to campus police chief Kelli Florman.
Still, Tlatoāni Alvarado considers the students’ work a success.
“It was a lot of work,” they said. “I was one of the students that had led the way in that campaign. But I couldn’t have done it alone. There were so many of us.”
Fast track to compliance
Compton College President Keith Curry said a February inquiry from CalMatters put the military equipment law on his radar for the first time. Campus police had issued semi-automatic rifles to patrol officers for over seven years, arguing that standard-issue pistols did not effectively protect civilians and officers during the 1997 North Hollywood bank robbery and shootout. The campus police department also owns incapacitating tasers and a submachine gun, the latter of which the college reports is for potentially lethal situations and to shoot through barriers. However, after some research, Curry realized his college never adopted an equipment use policy.
“Once I understood that it was not implemented correctly, I went into action mode,” Curry said. “I was calling around, I was calling a police chief that I know, I looked on different websites. I had to dissect the bill to understand it, myself, about what’s going on.”
Ultimately, Curry and Compton’s attorney wrote up a Corrective Action Plan that his district’s board of trustees unanimously approved on March 16. In accordance with the plan, the college approved an official policy in April, held a community engagement meeting in May, reviewed an annual use report in June and will update the police policy manual by September.
The compliance review served as a general reminder to build transparency between campus police and their constituents, Curry said. In April, he announced the establishment of three new forms of oversight for campus police: a student committee, a community advisory committee, and a task force reviewing police procedures and policies.
“As a leader, you have to understand what mistakes are made. You have to fix the mistakes,” Curry said.
After a CalMatters inquiry, Chaffey College officials also discovered they had no policy, which Chief Steven Griffin amended by writing a policy that his college board then passed in April. Cal State Monterey Bay updated its website with an equipment policy. Southwestern College modified its annual report with munition quantities. And San Joaquin Delta College, Cuesta College, and the Riverside Community College District all said they are unsure whether their past documentation follows the law, but are working to ensure future compliance.
Other college officials said adjusting their documentation to conform to state law made them reconsider the tools they have. After taking “immediate steps” to update MiraCosta College’s report, public and governmental relations director Kristen Gonzales said the campus police chief plans to “responsibly reduce (munition) inventory to a level that aligns with our actual operational needs and best practices.”
Tlatoāni Alvarado said that while campus militarization is deeply concerning, he’s witnessing a growing trend of students resisting it.
“College campuses are a focal point for where our activism can translate into real-world change,” they said. “Colleges are trying to quash that dissent. But what they need to know, and they need to be made aware of, is that there’s many more of us than there are of them.”
Phoebe Huss is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.
There are plenty of expected names and some first-timers in the list of nominees for the 2026 Emmy Awards.
Top contenders:The Pitt led all shows with 25 nominations, followed closely by the final season of Hacks with 24. But not far behind are the 19 nominations for the new, offbeat horror comedy Widow's Bay, including for outstanding comedy series and six actors, including lead actor Matthew Rhys. Just behind that, with 18 nominations, is the first season of Pluribus, creator Vince Gilligan's follow-up to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, led by nominated lead actress Rhea Seehorn.
Some surprises: Half Man, Richard Gadd's follow-up to the highly acclaimed series Baby Reindeer, received only a nomination for Gadd's acting. The second season of Apple's Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Mad Men's Jon Hamm (nominated eight times for Mad Men, where he won once) was nominated for outstanding drama series, but that's it. The Lowdown, the exceptional FX series starring Ethan Hawke as an Oklahoma journalist, was shut out entirely.
The hottest competition isn't where it used to be. There was a time when the limited or anthology series categories were where the most closely-watched races were happening. But this year, the nominees for outstanding program in that category are not the shows of the year. The second season of Beef was fine, Love Story: John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessettewas very similar to other work under Ryan Murphy's umbrella, and Sarah Snook was fabulous in All Her Fault. But are these limited series the really interesting shows out there, the way they were in 2021, when The Queen's Gambit beat out Mare of Easttown, I May Destroy You, The Underground Railroad and WandaVision? They are not.
As always, the first-timers are an interesting mix. Just from The Pitt, Gerran Howell (who plays Whittaker), Taylor Dearden (Mel), Patrick Ball, (Langdon), Fiona Dourif (McKay), Sepideh Moafi (Al-Hashimi), Jeff Kober (Duke), Tal Anderson (Becca) and Ernest Harden Jr. (Louie) got their first Emmy nominations. But so did Carey Mulligan, who's a three-time Oscar nominee, recognized here for Beef. Leslie Bibb, whose TV work goes all the way back to Popular on the WB in 1999, got her first Emmy nod for a guest spot on Hacks. Heated Rivalrywasn't eligible because it's Canadian, but Connor Storrie still got his first nomination for his guest appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Some surprises: Half Man, Richard Gadd's follow-up to the highly acclaimed series Baby Reindeer, received only a nomination for Gadd's acting. The second season of Apple's Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Mad Men's Jon Hamm (nominated eight times for Mad Men, where he won once) was nominated for outstanding drama series, but that's it. The Lowdown, the exceptional FX series starring Ethan Hawke as an Oklahoma journalist, was shut out entirely.
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons Paul W. Downs, Hacks Nick Offerman, Margo's Got Money Troubles Stephen Root, Widow's Bay Michael Urie, Shrinking Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series
Dale Dickey, Widow's Bay Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Janelle James, Abbott Elementary Kate O'Flynn, Widow's Bay Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo's Got Money Troubles Megan Stalter, Hacks Jessica Williams, Shrinking
Patrick Ball, The Pitt Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt Gerran Howell, The Pitt Jack Lowden, Slow Horses Tom Pelphrey, Task Carlos Manuel-Vesga, Pluribus
Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis Youn Yuh-jung, Beef Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
See the full list of nominees. Winners will be announced at the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony, hosted by Mariska Hargitay on Monday, Sept. 14 in Los Angeles.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller presented the nominees on Wednesday morning. Winners will be announced at the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14. Read analysis below or click here for the list of nominees.
The nominations look familiar — up to a point. There are plenty of expected names in the list of nominees for the 2026 Emmy Awards: The Pittled all shows with 25 nominations, followed closely by the final season of Hackswith 24. But not far behind are the 19 nominations for the new, offbeat horror comedy Widow's Bay, including for outstanding comedy series and six actors, including lead actor Matthew Rhys. Just behind that, with 18 nominations, is the first season of Pluribus, creator Vince Gilligan's follow-up to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, led by nominated lead actress Rhea Seehorn.
The hottest competition isn't where it used to be. There was a time when the limited or anthology series categories were where the most closely-watched races were happening. But this year, the nominees for outstanding program in that category are not the shows of the year. The second season of Beef was fine, Love Story: John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessettewas very similar to other work under Ryan Murphy's umbrella, and Sarah Snook was fabulous in All Her Fault. But are these limited series the really interesting shows out there, the way they were in 2021, when The Queen's Gambit beat out Mare of Easttown, I May Destroy You, The Underground Railroad and WandaVision? They are not.
As always, the first-timers are an interesting mix. Just from The Pitt, Gerran Howell (who plays Whittaker), Taylor Dearden (Mel), Patrick Ball, (Langdon), Fiona Dourif (McKay), Sepideh Moafi (Al-Hashimi), Jeff Kober (Duke), Tal Anderson (Becca) and Ernest Harden Jr. (Louie) got their first Emmy nominations. But so did Carey Mulligan, who's a three-time Oscar nominee, recognized here for Beef. Leslie Bibb, whose TV work goes all the way back to Popular on the WB in 1999, got her first Emmy nod for a guest spot on Hacks. Heated Rivalrywasn't eligible because it's Canadian, but Connor Storrie still got his first nomination for his guest appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Not all shows seeming to be awards magnets work out that way. Half Man, Richard Gadd's follow-up to the highly acclaimed series Baby Reindeer, received only a nomination for Gadd's acting. The second season of Apple's Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Mad Men's Jon Hamm (nominated eight times for Mad Men, where he won once) was nominated for outstanding drama series, but that's it. The Lowdown, the exceptional FX series starring Ethan Hawke as an Oklahoma journalist, was shut out entirely. Sometimes it's a relief and sometimes a disappointment, but things with plenty of energy behind them do miss out.
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons Paul W. Downs, Hacks Nick Offerman, Margo's Got Money Troubles Stephen Root, Widow's Bay Michael Urie, Shrinking Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series
Dale Dickey, Widow's Bay Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Janelle James, Abbott Elementary Kate O'Flynn, Widow's Bay Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo's Got Money Troubles Megan Stalter, Hacks Jessica Williams, Shrinking
Patrick Ball, The Pitt Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt Gerran Howell, The Pitt Jack Lowden, Slow Horses Tom Pelphrey, Task Carlos Manuel-Vesga, Pluribus
Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis Youn Yuh-jung, Beef Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
See the full list of nominees. Winners will be announced at the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony, hosted by Mariska Hargitay on Monday, Sept. 14 in Los Angeles.