Thread: Students return to class; reflect on turbulent week

Article Launched: 03/30/2006 12:00 AM PST

Students return to class; reflect on turbulent week

By Susan Abram, Staff Writer



After two days of walkouts to protest proposed immigration reform, thousands of Los Angeles students returned Wednesday to class, where teachers organized discussions on the hot-button issue.
After a stern warning to students from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa the day before, the Los Angeles Unified School District reported a significant drop in truancy. Just 211 students left campuses on Wednesday, down from 11,000 Tuesday and more than 35,000 on Monday.

LAUSD police officers cited 58 Westchester students for truancy, while the city's office of Public Safety issued two citations. Citations require students to appear in court with their parents and carry a fine of up to $250.

Most of the district's 720,000-plus students turned to each other and their teachers for a day of reflection and discussion inside classrooms and auditoriums. But some students still marched.

At Community Charter Early College in Van Nuys, 100 students led an eight-mile, school-sanctioned march to federal offices in Van Nuys, where parents and teachers joined in a rally.

Student leader Enrique Cabrales, 15, said the marches have taught him to open his eyes and lift his voice, even though some may not like it.

"There were some people along the way on (Wednesday's) march, giving us the thumbs-down symbol, but there were way more positive signs," he said. "I learned a lot of people will stand up for what they believe in, and I learned that the government doesn't always make the best decisions, or that they have the best ideas."

Michael Kinnaman, director of operations at the charter school, said officials welcomed students' interest in a sensitive political issue.



"What came out of all the passion of the last few days was the sentiment that it was time for all the students to come together for a peaceful protest," Kinnaman said. "It brought our school community together. This was a nice mix of emotion and information."

Reseda High School counselor Ivna Gusao said students organized an open-mic forum on her campus, which will be repeated today.

"We had an amazing day," Gusao said. "Some of the kids said, 'If you walk out, you will be betraying your parents, because they are the ones that have worked hard to get you in school.' That was the overall tone. It was very heartening to see how eloquent how some of the kids were."

Officials estimated that 8,000 LAUSD students and 3,600 from neighboring districts participated in marches and rallies on Tuesday, and about 25,000 LAUSD students on Monday, costing the district nearly $950,000 in state funding.

The weekday demonstrations followed massive protests Saturday and Sunday, when as many as 500,000 people rallied against proposed federal legislation that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally.

Susan Abram, (81 713-3664

susan.abram@dailynews.com

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_3652695

Student leader Enrique Cabrales, 15, said the marches have taught him to open his eyes and lift his voice, even though some may not like it.

15! I got socks older than him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Geez!

Officials estimated that 8,000 LAUSD students and 3,600 from neighboring districts participated in marches and rallies on Tuesday, and about 25,000 LAUSD students on Monday, costing the district nearly $950,000 in state funding.

These illegals don't come cheep either. This was one of the things the students were trying to do, keep the schools from getting the state funding. You know they didn't think that one up themselves. This was well organized.