Thread: ILL: H. S. Basketball Team Cancels Az Trip- Going to FLA

H.S. basketball team cancels Arizona trip

Published: May 12, 2010 at 4:57 PM

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill., May 12 (UPI) -- An Illinois girls high school basketball team has canceled plans to travel to an Arizona tournament because of the state's new immigration law, officials say.

The Highland Park High School Giants had planned to play in the tournament in December and had been holding bake sales to raise money for the trip, the Chicago Tribune reported. Officials in District 113 are now searching for another tournament in another state.

Assistant Superintendent Suzan Hebson said the decision was based partly on safety and partly on principle. She said no one knows yet how Arizona will enforce its law, which requires police to check the papers of anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant.

But she also said traveling to Arizona "would not be aligned with our beliefs and values."

Since Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law, there have been calls for a boycott of the state, some of them coming from opponents of the law inside Arizona. Picketing recently greeted the Arizona Diamondbacks when they played in Chicago.

Parents of the girls on the Highland Park basketball team, however, said they do not think the decision should be a political one.

"I disagree personally with the Arizona legislation, but I also feel strongly about young women's rights," Cynde Munzer said. "They don't want to get involved in politics."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/ ... 273697868/

Dr. George V. Fornero

Superintendent

Administrative Center
1040 Park Ave West
Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (224) 765-1000

email: gfornero@dist113.org

Full Name Hebson, Sue
E-Mail SHebson@dist113.org
Business Phone 224-765-1016
Department
Location
Job Title Asst. Superintendent for Instruction & Communication

The School:
Highland Park High School
433 Vine Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (224) 765-2000

Again, why would AZ care?

All this hysteria will wear off over time, and hopefully other states will adopt this law.

The ignorance of these protestors is mind boggling. I don't think they realize that this mirrors Federal law.

Illinois School Nixes Basketball Team's Trip to Arizona Over Immigration Law

FOXNews.com

An Illinois high school says it's denying its girls' basketball team the opportunity to play in an Arizona basketball tournament over the Grand Canyon State’s new immigration law.

Parents in Illinois are outraged over a move by a local high school to scrap its girls basketball team's trip to Arizona over the Grand Canyon State’s new immigration law.

The Highland Park High School varsity basketball team has been selling cookies for months to raise money for a tournament in Arizona.

Now, after winning their first conference title in 26 years, the girls are being denied the opportunity to play in the tournament because their school had some safety concerns -- and determined the trip “would not be alignedâ€

Highland Park High School Cancels Trip To Arizona Tournament Over Immigration Law (POLL)

Suburban Highland Park High School is coming off its best season for girls basketball in 26 years. But a planned trip to Arizona for a tournament next season has been canceled by the school due to that state's controversial new immigration law.

School officials painted the decision as a matter of safety. The Chicago Tribune spoke with District 113 Assistant Superintendent Suzan Hebson about the decision:

"We would want to ensure that all of our students had the opportunity to be included and be safe and be able to enjoy the experience," Hebson said of the tournament, which will be played in December. "We wouldn't necessarily be able to guarantee that."
Asked if there are undocumented players on the team, or if anyone associated with the team is in the country illegally, Hebson said she did not know.

The school draws students from Highland Park as well as what WLS describes as "the heavily Hispanic suburb of Highwood." Fifteen percent of the school's population is Hispanic.

But parents complain that the school is unwisely making political hay of a sporting event that is entirely unrelated.

From NBC Chicago's coverage of the story:

"Why are we mixing politics and a basketball tournament?" said Michael Evans, whose daughter Lauren plays for the squad. "It's outrageous that they're doing this under the guise of safety."
And Hebson, the assistant superintendent, admitted that safety wasn't the only concern. A trip to Arizona "would not be aligned with our beliefs and values," she told the Tribune.

Highland Park High's protest comes as Chicagoans have mixed reactions to Arizona's new law. Congressman Luis Gutierrez encouraged constituents to cancel vacations to the state.

State Senator Martin Sandoval called on the White Sox to move their training camp out of Arizona, and threatened to withhold state funding for the team if they didn't. And protesters picketed the Diamondbacks game at Wrigley Field, as that organization has strong ties to Arizona's right-wing politics.

Still, many, like Michael Evans, think that sports is the wrong venue to make a political protest.

Let us know what you think:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/1 ... 73713.html

Quick Poll
Should schools cancel sports trips to Arizona over the immigration law?

Yes. Sometimes you have to take a stand against injustice.
64.59%

No. High school sports shouldn't be used for political protest.
35.41%

Please vote because this poll is on the Huffington Post and we all know it is really the Progressive Post.

For now, Hebson says, Arizona is off-limits, due to uncertainty over how the state’s new law, which makes it a crime to be in the country illegally, will be enforced.

"We would want to ensure that all of our students had the opportunity to be included and be safe and be able to enjoy the experience," Hebson told the Tribune about the tournament, scheduled for December. "We wouldn't necessarily be able to guarantee that."

This kind of implies that their players are illegals. This school mistakenly thinks it's punishing Arizona, when in fact they are punishing the players who worked so hard to qualify for the trip.

Should schools cancel sports trips to Arizona over the immigration law?
Yes. Sometimes you have to take a stand against injustice.
64.44%

No. High school sports shouldn't be used for political protest.
35.56%

Everyone is jumping on the"15 minutes of fame" bandwagon. They are all going to feel veryfoolish in the near future. I had no idea the mainstream media and it's distortion of the truth is so widely accepted. We have a president deliberately mistating Arizona's SB 1070 along with numerous politicians, both state and federal.

I blame this on Obama and the mainstream media. Someone needs to come out and explain that this law is no different than the federal laws already on the books. The only difference is THE STATE will enforce the law since the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO ENFORCE THE LAW.

Related

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1059050.html