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Students Walk Out, Demand Statewide Cesar Chavez Holiday
LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of students walked out of East Los Angeles schools and marched along downtown streets Friday calling for Cesar Chavez Day to be declared a state holiday.
As of 11:15 a.m., around 650 students had walked off about 15 Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, according to district spokeswoman Nadia Gonzalez.
Among the campuses affected were Belvedere and Hollenbeck middle schools, and Roosevelt, Wilmington and Banning high schools, officials said.
Many students gathered at East Los Angeles College on Cesar Chavez Avenue this morning, then marched to City Hall, where they sat on the steps chanting and waving Mexican flags, saying federal offices, schools and city government should all be closed in honor of Chavez.
"We trying to get them to give us this holiday because Cesar Chavez helped our people a lot by marching for equal rights. said Corina Vigil, a 16- year-old junior from Roosevelt High School who solicited signatures for a petition asking LAUSD to recognize the Chavez holiday.
"He believed in us, so now we're asking the school district to show they believe in us too,"she said.
Guadalupe Martinez-Diaz wore a red United Farm Workers union baseball cap as he sang "corridos," or traditional Mexican narrative songs, to about 200 youths gathered on City Hall's south lawn. Martinez-Diaz, a former farm worker who said he marched with Chavez, encouraged the students to unite.
"I stood side by side with him," Martinez-Diaz said. "These children are doing the right thing. If the state can recognize the holiday, then why can't the school district?"
Ruby Gallegos, a 16-year-old Roosevelt High School junior, said she wants to see the Chavez holiday gain the same recognition as other state and federal holidays.
"It has been a state holiday for seven years, but LAUSD has conveniently put aside that law," Gallegos said. "We are out here supporting our freedom of speech and defending our rights."
Los Angeles and school police officers kept a close watch on the students as they marched through downtown, spilling into some streets as they made their way to City Hall. No problems had been reported, according to Los Angeles police Officer Martha Garcia.
About 100-200 students walked out of Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, according to the Long Beach Police Department. No problems were reported, police said.
In Huntington Park, about 200 students took part in protests in various parts of the city, generally in groups of three or four dozen at a time, according to Huntington Park police Sgt. John Navarrette.
"It's been fairly quiet and we've had no problems," he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who co-authored the state legislation declaring a state holiday in honor of Chavez, said students should not be marching out of class.
"I think our kids should stay in school," Villaraigosa said. "I believe that we can get a lot more information about Cesar Chavez and the contribution that he made to this great country by going to school, by learning about those contributions. I say this as someone who walked and marched alongside Cesar Chavez, so my hope is that these kids go back to school and realize, as we all do, that the most important thing they can do is get an education."
Dan Isaacs of the LAUSD told KNBC that he respects students' freedom-of- speech rights, but "on the other hand I think the primary responsibility of kids is to attend school."
Isaacs said additional materials about Chavez were distributed in the schools in the past week.
The LAUSD, which receives state funding based on attendance, will lose about $30.78 per student who does not attend class -- meaning the district stands to lose about $20,000 from today's walkout, Gonzalez said.
The students will not be cited for truancy, she said.
"The students are exerting a right of free speech that protects them," Gonzalez said. "We know of their right to participate in these types of demonstrations ... as long as they do it in an orderly manner."
Friday's walkout fell well short of the massive demonstrations by students last year, when thousands walked off campus and descended on downtown Los Angeles in opposition to immigration legislation pending in Washington, D.C. Some students in those demonstrations marched onto freeways, snarling traffic. Some were arrested and cited for truancy.
In an e-mail sent Thursday to school district superintendents, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell denounced organizations that encouraged students to boycott school today, calling it "a misguided attempt to support immigrants to our country and honor Cesar Chavez's legacy.
"I strongly urge students not to participate in this form of protest and to attend school on Friday, which is a regular school day," he wrote.
He noted that "districts can face fiscal consequences from students not attending school," and added:
"Our students cannot afford to miss school. Our schools cannot afford student absences. And our state cannot afford to rest for even one day until we close the achievement gap that threatens the futures of so many of our immigrant students."
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said anyone who encourages students to walk out of class should be subject to criminal prosecution.
"Encouraging students to walk out of class on a school day is a reckless act of exploitation that threatens their safety and the stability of our educational system."
LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of students walked out of East Los Angeles schools and marched along downtown streets Friday calling for Cesar Chavez Day to be declared a state holiday.
As of 11:15 a.m., around 650 students had walked off about 15 Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, according to district spokeswoman Nadia Gonzalez.
Among the campuses affected were Belvedere and Hollenbeck middle schools, and Roosevelt, Wilmington and Banning high schools, officials said.
Many students gathered at East Los Angeles College on Cesar Chavez Avenue this morning, then marched to City Hall, where they sat on the steps chanting and waving Mexican flags, saying federal offices, schools and city government should all be closed in honor of Chavez.
"We trying to get them to give us this holiday because Cesar Chavez helped our people a lot by marching for equal rights. said Corina Vigil, a 16- year-old junior from Roosevelt High School who solicited signatures for a petition asking LAUSD to recognize the Chavez holiday.
"He believed in us, so now we're asking the school district to show they believe in us too,"she said.
Guadalupe Martinez-Diaz wore a red United Farm Workers union baseball cap as he sang "corridos," or traditional Mexican narrative songs, to about 200 youths gathered on City Hall's south lawn. Martinez-Diaz, a former farm worker who said he marched with Chavez, encouraged the students to unite.
"I stood side by side with him," Martinez-Diaz said. "These children are doing the right thing. If the state can recognize the holiday, then why can't the school district?"
Ruby Gallegos, a 16-year-old Roosevelt High School junior, said she wants to see the Chavez holiday gain the same recognition as other state and federal holidays.
"It has been a state holiday for seven years, but LAUSD has conveniently put aside that law," Gallegos said. "We are out here supporting our freedom of speech and defending our rights."
Los Angeles and school police officers kept a close watch on the students as they marched through downtown, spilling into some streets as they made their way to City Hall. No problems had been reported, according to Los Angeles police Officer Martha Garcia.
About 100-200 students walked out of Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, according to the Long Beach Police Department. No problems were reported, police said.
In Huntington Park, about 200 students took part in protests in various parts of the city, generally in groups of three or four dozen at a time, according to Huntington Park police Sgt. John Navarrette.
"It's been fairly quiet and we've had no problems," he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who co-authored the state legislation declaring a state holiday in honor of Chavez, said students should not be marching out of class.
"I think our kids should stay in school," Villaraigosa said. "I believe that we can get a lot more information about Cesar Chavez and the contribution that he made to this great country by going to school, by learning about those contributions. I say this as someone who walked and marched alongside Cesar Chavez, so my hope is that these kids go back to school and realize, as we all do, that the most important thing they can do is get an education."
Dan Isaacs of the LAUSD told KNBC that he respects students' freedom-of- speech rights, but "on the other hand I think the primary responsibility of kids is to attend school."
Isaacs said additional materials about Chavez were distributed in the schools in the past week.
The LAUSD, which receives state funding based on attendance, will lose about $30.78 per student who does not attend class -- meaning the district stands to lose about $20,000 from today's walkout, Gonzalez said.
The students will not be cited for truancy, she said.
"The students are exerting a right of free speech that protects them," Gonzalez said. "We know of their right to participate in these types of demonstrations ... as long as they do it in an orderly manner."
Friday's walkout fell well short of the massive demonstrations by students last year, when thousands walked off campus and descended on downtown Los Angeles in opposition to immigration legislation pending in Washington, D.C. Some students in those demonstrations marched onto freeways, snarling traffic. Some were arrested and cited for truancy.
In an e-mail sent Thursday to school district superintendents, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell denounced organizations that encouraged students to boycott school today, calling it "a misguided attempt to support immigrants to our country and honor Cesar Chavez's legacy.
"I strongly urge students not to participate in this form of protest and to attend school on Friday, which is a regular school day," he wrote.
He noted that "districts can face fiscal consequences from students not attending school," and added:
"Our students cannot afford to miss school. Our schools cannot afford student absences. And our state cannot afford to rest for even one day until we close the achievement gap that threatens the futures of so many of our immigrant students."
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said anyone who encourages students to walk out of class should be subject to criminal prosecution.
"Encouraging students to walk out of class on a school day is a reckless act of exploitation that threatens their safety and the stability of our educational system."
