The UCSD Complicity Walking Tour is a thought-provoking experience that invites participants to engage with the University of California, San Diego’s campus in a unique and reflective way. Unlike conventional tours that highlight achievements or architecture, this tour focuses on the less visible narratives that shape the university’s history, power structures, and its involvement with broader social, political, and economic systems. As you walk through familiar pathways and buildings, this tour challenges you to question what lies beneath the surface and to consider the role of complicity in shaping institutional environments.
What Is the UCSD Complicity Walking Tour?
A Critical Reframing of the Campus
The UCSD Complicity Walking Tour is designed to uncover the university’s entanglement with systems of inequality, colonization, and environmental degradation. Rather than celebrating the institution in a traditional sense, the tour offers a counter-narrative that sheds light on what is often left out of mainstream university storytelling. It calls on students, faculty, visitors, and staff to rethink the space they occupy.
Origins of the Tour
This walking tour emerged from activism, student-led movements, and faculty research committed to justice and transparency. It was developed as an educational tool to encourage accountability and foster critical engagement with the campus landscape. As a grassroots initiative, it reflects collective efforts to interrogate institutional complicity and resist sanitized histories.
Key Themes Explored in the Tour
Colonial Foundations and Indigenous Displacement
One of the primary focal points of the tour is UCSD’s location on unceded Kumeyaay land. Tour stops discuss the ways in which indigenous presence has been erased or obscured in the university’s expansion, and highlight the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism. Participants are encouraged to consider how land acknowledgments can be transformed into meaningful action and reparative justice.
Military and Defense Industry Ties
UCSD’s close relationship with the U.S. military-industrial complex is another major subject. Many buildings on campus are funded by or affiliated with defense research. The tour points out labs and departments that contribute to technologies used in warfare and surveillance. It asks participants to question the ethical implications of academic research conducted in collaboration with military institutions.
Corporate Influence and Economic Inequality
The growing presence of corporate sponsors and private industry partnerships across campus has raised concerns about academic freedom and equity. The tour stops at locations tied to major donors or tech partnerships, interrogating the influence of capital on university policy, curriculum, and labor practices. This theme examines how economic priorities can undermine the university’s commitment to public good.
Environmental Impact and Sustainability Contradictions
Despite its green initiatives, UCSD faces contradictions in sustainability practices. The tour highlights areas of the campus affected by ecological disruption, resource-intensive construction, or ties to environmentally harmful industries. The goal is to foster critical environmental literacy among participants and to hold institutions accountable for greenwashing practices.
Labor and Worker Justice
Tour stops also address labor conditions for campus workers, including custodial staff, food service workers, adjunct faculty, and graduate student employees. It draws attention to labor strikes, union struggles, and pay disparities. This section of the tour advocates for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the recognition of all workers as vital contributors to the university community.
Highlights of the Walking Tour Route
- Geisel Library: A symbol of UCSD’s intellectual identity, but also a site where surveillance and data control are explored in connection with academic institutions.
- Revelle College: Discussion centers around the college’s namesake and his role in U.S. nuclear weapons development.
- Engineering Buildings: Explores defense contracts and the ethics of technological research.
- Price Center: Corporate influence and student consumer culture are analyzed here.
- Torrey Pines Area: Highlights biotech industry ties and their implications for public health and equity.
- Student Housing: Gentrification and the cost of living crisis in San Diego are connected to rising campus rents.
Educational Goals and Impact
Critical Consciousness and Dialogue
The purpose of the UCSD Complicity Walking Tour is not to provide definitive answers, but to raise questions. It seeks to inspire dialogue, introspection, and a commitment to social change. Participants often report a new awareness of how space, history, and power operate in seemingly neutral environments.
Curricular Integration and Research Opportunities
Faculty in disciplines like ethnic studies, sociology, environmental science, and urban planning have incorporated the tour into their curricula. The walking tour has also inspired undergraduate and graduate research projects, performance art, and campus activism rooted in the themes of complicity and resistance.
Community Involvement and Public Access
Student-Led Engagement
Many versions of the tour are led by student guides who bring their own experiences and interpretations to the conversation. These guides help make the tour dynamic and evolving, ensuring that it reflects current issues and community concerns.
Accessible Formats
In addition to in-person tours, digital maps and audio guides are available for individuals who wish to explore at their own pace. These resources include background readings, testimonies, and reflective prompts for deeper engagement.
Controversy and Institutional Response
Mixed Reception
While many faculty and students support the UCSD Complicity Walking Tour, the initiative has also faced criticism from those who view it as overly critical or politically biased. Debates around free speech, academic objectivity, and institutional image continue to shape how the tour is received and supported.
Push Toward Institutional Change
Despite the tension, the tour has contributed to important policy discussions on campus, including re-evaluation of naming rights, sustainability pledges, and faculty hiring practices. The tour acts as a catalyst for transparency and progress in university governance.
How to Participate in the Walking Tour
Scheduled Tours
The tour is offered at select times during the academic year, especially during welcome weeks, orientation, and special events like Earth Month or Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Registration is typically open to all UCSD affiliates and the broader public.
Self-Guided Exploration
For those unable to attend a live tour, self-guided materials are available in both digital and print format. Participants are encouraged to reflect independently and share their insights through social media or student forums.
The UCSD Complicity Walking Tour is more than a physical journey it’s an intellectual and emotional experience that invites us to re-examine what we take for granted about our educational institutions. By confronting histories of exclusion, exploitation, and injustice, the tour fosters a culture of critical reflection and ethical responsibility. It is a call to not only witness complicity but to act in ways that promote equity, justice, and true institutional transformation.