On May 1, 2009, SFAI students, alumni, faculty, staff and others in the SFAI community convened in the Diego Rivera Gallery and the campus courtyard to honor Diego Rivera and the traditional day of labor unity, at a time when they are embattled against the current SFAI Administration for actions and decisions that contradict SFAI's rich history.  The gathering was festive and educational, and included a talk on the history of Rivera's mural at SFAI, and a talk on May Day in contemporary Europe.   

On May 1, 1931, Diego Rivera began painting his mural "The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City" at the California School of Fine Arts, now the San Francisco At Institute (SFAI).  A founding member of an artists' union in Mexico, Rivera focused most of his work on subjects of social and labor justice.  Rivera's mural at SFAI is truely a work of labor, as it stresses the importance of collaboration and sharing of work in artistic and intellectual endeavors.  The mural also celebrates those persons who helped build the City of San Francisco, from laborers on construction sites to artists and professors at the campus. 

Concerned SFAI students and alumni call on the current SFAI Adminstration -- its Trustees and Executives -- to preserve SFAI's rich heritage and to reverse their acts and decisions that sharply contrast with the message and sentiment of the Rivera's mural.  In particular, the concerned students and alumni demand that the Adminstration preserve a quality education at SFAI, preserve academic freedom and tenure at SFAI, rescind the layoff notices to tenured faculty, and stop restricting student free speech rights on campus.