By Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer

Cal Poly Pomona students are protesting on campus this afternoon about a proposed plan to build dorms on pasture land for the university’s horses.

The protest got underway at noon outside the Bronco Student Center.

School administrators explained at a meeting last month that the university lacks adequate room to house its students, and the dormitories they do have are crumbling.

Space on campus is limited, school officials say, and topography — hills and fault lines — further reduces their options for areas to develop.

At a Feb. 21 protest, students said they fear the loss of the pasture land could be one step in a process that may eventually eliminate natural resources from the campus.

The impact of losing the pasture land could affect future agricultural students, according to organizer Adam Mason.

“This land is used for education and a platform for students to have a one-on-one experience with rangeland management,” Mason said. “Once they take out these pastures and set concrete, it can’t be turned back into one. The fertile land used to feed livestock will be destroyed.”

More details to come.