Thread: Live Oak Students Want Peace Unity-Poll on Page!

Live Oak students: We want peace, unity

Friday, May 07, 2010

By Lindsay Bryant (lbryant@morganhilltimes.com)


As Friday slowly unfolds into the weekend - Live Oak High School students still reeling from the national spotlight that has shined on the school for three days - took some time during their lunch period today to just breathe and reflect on what transpired since Cinco de Mayo.

"Our school's not known for racism," sophomore Justina Piedra said shaking her head. "Our school is actually a really good school. Everybody gets along with everybody, except these past three days it's been living hell for everybody."

That living hell, students said, began when four students who wore red, white and blue patriotic clothing on Cinco de Mayo, were sent home by administrators to quell any potential violence. One student said Vice Principal Miguel Rodriguez called the T-shirts "incendiary."

"They said we were starting a fight, we were fuel to the fire," said Matt Dariano, a sophomore, and one of the students sent home.

Today, many LOHS students wore white and purple to show their solidarity with one another and as a outward expression of peace and unity. At lunch, hundreds gathered in the quad area at Live Oak to dispel the rumors and tension, they say, that was caused by the national media that used a bad decision by their administrators to send home Daniel Galli, Dominic Maciel, Matt Dariano and Austin Carvalho, as an unfair quick glance at Live Oak.

The four students' parents were called into a conference Wednesday after brunch with Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez and Principal Nick Boden who sent the students home with an unexcused absence, not suspension.

Students held an American flag and Mexican flag up - they stood together - said Jessica Serpa, a freshman, and proclaimed "we should stop this."

The school district and Live Oak has been submerged in the national spotlight on radio stations, FOX news and other national shows, and splashed all over the Internet since May 5. Extra police were stationed at Live Oak Thursday and Friday to prevent potential violence. None was reported.

Superintendent Wes Smith held a press conference today to address the situation that he called "unfortunate." Live Oak Principal Nick Boden was not at the press conference held at the school district office at 11:45 a.m., but did issue an apology addressed to the Live Oak community. In it, Boden apologized for the impact the controversy made.

"In this situation, I may have moved too quickly in drawing the line of when to take preventative action," Boden wrote.

Smith was clear on his position of the national media trying to pigeon hole Live Oak or Morgan Hill as a hotbed for racial tension.

"This is not Live Oak, they don't know us," Smith said in an interview this afternoon. "We know our town, we know our kids and the incident was regrettable, mistakes were made. But it doesn't define us."

It was the level of maturity that came from Live Oak students Friday at lunch during their peaceful meeting that now has everyone talking.

"The adults (on campus) were in awe of how these kids were coming together," Smith said. "It's a metaphor for how we move forward, that we're not what those people are saying about us, we want to get along, we want to work this out."

How it started

Four teens were sent home for wearing red, white and blue on Cinco de Mayo after Live Oak High School officials asked the students to turn their American flag T-shirts inside-out to quell any confrontations. That evening, a few Bay Area news outlets got wind of the story, and it began to percolate.

The next morning, more than 300 stories appeared on the Internet and Bay Area news stations set up camp in front of Live Oak High School as many more students came to school wearing red, white and blue. A firestorm of outrage erupted online and moved to the streets when about 200 Hispanic students walked out of Live Oak and Ann Sobrato high schools and marched through Morgan Hill demonstrating their support for Mexico.

"It's disrespectful to do it on Cinco de Mayo," said Jessica Cortez, a Live Oak sophomore. "They can be a patriot on some other day. Not that specific day."

Hispanic students felt that students wearing American flags were disrespecting the Mexican-American students on Cinco de Mayo - the only day that they celebrate their Mexican heritage.

It was originally thought that five students were sent home, but one did return to class Wednesday. Live Oak has a student population of about 1,400, 40 percent of whom are Hispanic and 50 percent are white.

The First Amendment debate

William J. Becker Jr., a First Amendment attorney based in Los Angeles, said the students' First Amendment rights were absolutely violated when administrators asked that they remove their T-shirts.

"The student wearing the Old Navy T-shirt with the flag does not shed their First Amendment rights at the school house gates," Becker said.

Administrators cannot ask students to relinquish their freedom of speech and expression due to the fear that something might happen. When a person's right to freedom of speech or expression is restricted to prevent another party from reacting, it's known as the heckler's veto. Becker said this is a perfect example of how heckler's veto was used to displace the students' freedom of speech.

"Every viewpoint has a particular averse viewpoint," Becker said. "That's why the First Amendment is there - to support unpopular expression."

The incident comes just days after Arizona enacted a new law that allows police to question anyone they suspect is crossing the border illegally.

Comments left online to www.morganhilltimes.com said that the boys are often seen with American flag patches on their backpacks and Maciel said he's worn the T-shirt he wore on Cinco de Mayo many times before.

Curtis Collier, the president of the U.S. Border Watch, a citizens' action group whose mission is to "stem illegal entry into the U.S. from the north and south" called from his Texas office appalled by the news emanating across the Web and on TV.

"That is their constitutional right to wear the shirt," Collier said. "I think the school missed a golden opportunity here and missed having a dialogue between the students and have them talk it out."

Hispanic students march for respect

More than 200 Hispanic teens skipped school Thursday and marched through Morgan Hill yelling "We want respect!" and "Si se puedes!" At least six Morgan Hill police cars and several sheriff's vehicles caravanned alongside the line of teens wearing red, white and green and carrying Mexican flags.

The crowd - mostly high school students - left school Thursday morning after the story of four students who were sent home because they wore American flag T-shirts went viral on TV and online.

The students say they want people to know they're proud of their heritage and those who wore red, white and blue on Cinco de Mayo weren't showing them any respect.

"We did this to support the Latino/Hispanic community," said Francine Roa, who graduated from Live Oak High School in 2005. She brought her 2-year-old son Elias Martinez on the march.

During the march, several car donned American flags on the bed of trucks or from windows and repeatedly drove past the crowd.

Live Oak parent Greg Hall saw the band of Hispanic students walking down Monterey Road Thursday.

"I think it's utterly and completely ridiculous," Hall said. "I think the assistant principal and principal should be fired. The (protesting) students should be disciplined - suspended or expelled. The fact that these four kids were singled out for wearing American colors is utterly ridiculous."

The teens responded by yelling "Give us respect!" but some screamed obscenities. At least three people driving yelled derogatory slurs at the largely Hispanic group.

Many of the students were from Live Oak, who left school about 11 a.m. Thursday and decided to march to the school district headquarters just north of Tennant Road. When they arrived, they were told to leave the property.

The group marched through downtown and went west on Main Street to Morgan Hill City Hall on Peak Avenue.

A war veteran, William Quenneville of Morgan Hill, was at City Hall while students protested on the front lawn as the police caravan kept a close eye on the whistling and hollering students.

"These students chose to be part of civil disobedience," Quenneville said. "There's a much more respectful way to do this."

Friday after school, Jessica Serpa, adorned in purple with Peace signs inked on her hands, said: "We wanted to come together all united as one, not as separate beings."

http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/265 ... eace-unity


There's a poll on the upper left side of the page:

Did LOHS officials make the right call when they sent four students home for wearing American flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo?

Yes (8%)

No (92%)

Total Votes:2939

Did LOHS officials make the right call when they sent four students home for wearing American flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo?
Yes (8%)
No (92%)

Total Votes:2967
Thank you for voting in this poll.

There is another article at this site.About 100 Tea Partiers give the 4 boys a 3 hr standing ovation and the boys were with them.

Friday after school, Jessica Serpa, adorned in purple with Peace signs inked on her hands, said: "We wanted to come together all united as one, not as separate beings."

Total melodramatic crock.


The young adults that marched demanding "respect", should have been arrested and if any of them were not here legally, sould have been sent home to Mexico where they could receive an education in their beloved mother country. JMO

"It's disrespectful to do it on Cinco de Mayo," said Jessica Cortez, a Live Oak sophomore. "They can be a patriot on some other day. Not that specific day."

Hispanic students felt that students wearing American flags were disrespecting the Mexican-American students on Cinco de Mayo - the only day that they celebrate their Mexican heritage.

How do you reason with people of this mindset? Not only do these people celebrate their mexican heritage everyday, they like to throw it in your faces as well - hence the picture above with the la raza disciple, marching down the street, with her beloved mexican rag.

Talk about disrespect.

ITS DISRESPECTFUL TO HANG YOUR STUPID MEXICAN FLAG OVER AN UPSIDE-DOWN US FLAG ON U S SOIL...

Trying to gloss over Mexican hostility towards the America and the gringo with this phony hug-for-the-camera BULLCRAP....

Let's see.

Students who wear patriotic clothes go home rather than turn them inside out which they consider "disrespectful", and they are disciplined by having an "unexcused absence.

Two hundred Hispanic kids walk out of school to show their pride in Mexico and are not disciplined.

It seems to me that something is very off with this school's administration.

Time to call the ACLU.

Bettybb, what good would the ACLU do. They are there to defend the undocumented Americans!!!!

Students held an American flag and Mexican flag up - they stood together - said Jessica Serpa, a freshman, and proclaimed "we should stop this."

Why hold up a Mexican flag anyway? This is America not Mexico.

KeeKee,

The whole point of the ACLU is that they protect fundamental rights, no matter how unpopular. This is definately a case they would take.. but it does not look like they have to since the school backed down.