Battle over Nov. 2 high school walkouts in LA
Hear from students, a school board member, and WCW organizers standing up for the right of high school students to walk-out and join protests Nov. 2nd without being harrassed or arrested by police, and without punishment from school.
From LA high school students:
RESIST OR DIE!
November 2nd marks Bush’s reelection, but after 2005, it will be remembered as the beginning of the end of the Bush regime. On November 2nd thousands of people will be leaving jobs, leaving schools, and taking to the streets. This is a time to take action. What else needs to happen before we act? Go back to segregation? New Orleans, the war in Iraq, and these Supreme Court nominations are proof enough that this regime must go.
Bush is a threat to society. He is drifting society towards fascist theocracy with its roots in the Bible. Bush is letting people die in Iraq. He’s against abortion. He wants to take women’s rights away. He hasn’t said anything about the minutemen on the border. He’s a threat to our future.
We as high school students not only have the right to join this movement, but responsibility to do so. We are going to have high school walkouts all over the country on November 2nd.
In Los Angeles, principals and administrators are trying to stop us from doing this. At Locke, the principal threatened to expel a student because she was passing out posters telling about the genocidal comments of William Bennett and how this is part of why we have to drive out the Bush regime. At Banning, the principal forced a student to walk around the school and take down all the stickers and posters about November 2nd. Then he cancelled the speakout she was working on, which she had permission to schedule at the school. At Reseda, school police told a student she would get a $700 ticket if she walked out of school on November 2nd. And at Fairfax, some teachers started scheduling tests for November 2nd and telling students their grades would be lowered if they missed the test.
Our answer to all this is: F*ck their threats, we’re changing the world!
The administrators are using the same tactics as the Bush administration: fear. They are trying to scare us so we’ll back off and not walk out or go against Bush. What are these threats compared to what Bush is doing? They are nothing.
On top of this, their own policy says we students have the right to walk out of school and the administrators are not allowed to try to stop us! This was in a memo from the Los Angeles Unified School District that was sent to all the principals on October 26, 2005. That memo should be made public to all students and parents. People should support the high school students and make sure these administrators don’t try to punish any students for walking out on November 2nd.
We owe it to the millions of people that are getting tortured, getting murdered, and suffering around the world to do this. Resist or Die - it has come down to that slogan. If we don’t resist right now we won’t have a chance to again. Right now the future is in everybody’s hands. It is up to us. The question is what kind of world do you want to live in? Will you accept everything this regime stands for? If you don’t, then you must join this movement. Join the school walkouts. Join us on Wilshire Blvd. at 12 noon on November 2nd and in Westwood at the Federal Building at 5pm.
-Sara Escudero from Reseda High School and LJ from Los Angeles High School
Urgent Message to Educators- from Andy Griggs
Steering committee US Labor against the War and
member of UTLA board of directors (Organizations for identification purposes only)
AN URGENT MESSAGE TO LOS ANGELES EDUCATORS AND ALL THOSE CONCERNED WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE ON THE WORLD CANT WAIT CALL TO DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME
I would like to echo the sentiments of the Oakland Educational Association who recently unanimously passed a resolution to support the right of participation in the November 2nd. 2005 day of protest and support the policy of no reprisals against students, teachers, and others in the school community who may take-off work or school to take part in protest activities that day. The author of this resolution Larry Felson, teacher and OEA site rep at Oakland High, Oakland, California wrote:
The continuing slaughter of the Iraqi people! The exposure of Bush and the government surrounding New Orleans and the horrendous treatment of Black people. The vicious attack on poor and immigrant youth and youth of color represented by "No Child Left Behind," as well as the attempt to turn our schools into recruiting centers for their wars of expansion and greed! These are outrageous crimes that must be stopped!
As the WORLD CANT WAIT Call puts it: "The Bush Regime is setting out to remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. A new movement is now forming to stop this disastrous course by taking action and on November 2nd it begins: a mass political resistance that will not stop until this regime is driven from office."
There have been reports that at Fairfax High and other Los Angeles schools there have been cases of harassment and intimidation of students who are organizing for the Nov. 2 day of protests. I urge LA administrators to allow students the exercise of their rights to express their opinion and to further encourage all young people to question those policies that will affect them so deeply--whether because of cuts to education and other social services that will limit their opportunities--or, the even more obvious threat to them--a life in the military where they can be used to kill others in a war that is based on lies and deception!
I join with Larry Felson and the Oakland Educators Association in calling all educators and others across the country to take up WORLD CANT WAIT/DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME activities on November 2nd and to support a policy of no reprisals against those who choose to participate. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!
Statement in Support of High School Students
Participating in Nov. 2 Actions
High school and middle school students throughout the country are organizing to take their part in powerful political actions on Wednesday, Nov. 2 to launch the movement to Drive Out the Bush Regime. In southern California student organizers for Nov. 2 are reporting threats and intimidation by school authorities, including failing grades, tickets for truancy, and suspensions.
On October 26 a memo was sent to every principal from LAUSD directly stating “Do not attempt to prevent students from leaving the campus” on Nov. 2. This policy must be made known to students throughout LAUSD immediately, and violations of this order by school administrators and the police must stop. And more, LAUSD must assure the parents and the public that students will not be punished for taking political action on Nov. 2. At a time when military recruiters roam the high schools of this country pressuring underage students to join a military engaging in wars of aggression and torture, students can not be stopped from taking political action to put an end to this regime and affect the future of this world and their place in it.
We call on LAUSD to immediately publicize their policy concerning the right of students to engage in politically protected activity, and all of the memos that have been issued regarding the Nov. 2 actions should be made public, so that students, parents, and the public at large will know that the rights of the students to take political action are being protected.
October 28, 2005
World Can’t Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime! - L.A.