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Times change, causes don’t

The year was 1969, and Delano High School student Lori de Leon participated in group meetings, discussing walkout plans to protest unfair treatment of Hispanic students happening across the state. She and other students relied on those meetings and word-of-mouth to spread the news.

Flash forward to March 29, 2006, when West High School student Karina Perez only had to log on to Myspace.com and read a bulletin about a planned walkout in Bakersfield to protest an immigration bill that would make it a felony to live in the country illegally and that students feel unfairly targets Hispanic immigrants.

Times have changed, but Latino causes have not.

For the first time, in what could be decades, social activism among Hispanic youth appears reinvigorated.

And the series of student walkouts, which have taken place all over California and throughout the country, was largely led by Latino students and mirrored the walkouts of the late 1960s — an incident that recently became the subject of the HBO movie, “Walkout,” now showing on the cable network.

Students from the different high schools in the Kern High School District marched the streets in downtown Bakersfield united for a cause — to oppose congressional bill, House Resolution (HR) 4437, and to fight for immigrant rights.

“We knew why we walked out. We knew what we were doing. We are not stupid,” said Michael Zamora, a 16-year-old freshman at West High School who helped organize the student walkout of nearly 4,000 students, from Bakersfield and Arvin to Shafter and Delano.  “We are here to stand up for immigrants’ rights.”

HR 4437, which is currently supported by many conservatives, would amend immigration law. The bill has generated outrage by students and Latino groups because it proposes that any undocumented immigrant caught in the United States be charged with a felony. The law would also pertain to anyone, including churches, who helps an undocumented immigrant. In addition, employers who hire undocumented workers could face stiff criminal penalties. Currently, being in the country illegally is not a criminal problem.

Undocumented immigrants are charged with felony crimes, if they commit a serious crime as defined by law. 

But to charge undocumented immigrants with a felony for trying to work in the fields and provide better opportunities for their children is unfair and discriminatory, students say.

It’s also unjust to charge people, such as church members or other outreach services, with a crime, if they are caught helping undocumented immigrants, the young protesters added.

Many students say they don’t have the right to vote, but they do have the right to speak out against a proposed federal law that directly affects their relatives or friends’ families.

As such, the students said they chose to walk out of school to express their feelings because they knew it would get the government and the public’s attention.

“If we sent a letter (to Congress), we felt it wouldn’t do nothing. They are not going to listen to letters,” Zamora said.

Zamora was well aware that not only was it his right to freedom of speech and to protest in the First Amendment, but he also knew that when students don’t attend school, the school loses money.

“If they lose money, they will pay attention,” he said.

Not all of that attention will be good news to students who chose to leave campus for the protest, according to school officials.

The Kern High School District has a truancy program that puts a student at one step closer to a court hearing with each unexcused absence. The more unexcused absences a student has, the closer the student is to meeting with the dean, a parent conference and eventually, a court hearing.

School officials informed students that unexcused absences will lead to a “cut.”

“Every time a student has an unexcused absence, both the student and parents are reminded of our truancy program,” said Vicki Spanos, attendance administrator with the Kern High School District.

Some teachers have used the walkouts as a topic of discussion into history and today’s politics. But, school officials say students should stay in school.

High schools lose $33 for each unexcused complete day missed, according to Spanos.

That money is eventually lost for the school district, possibly taking funds that could be used for repairs, new equipment or other student needs, she said.

Zamora said he has family members who are undocumented immigrants and protesting within the school did cross his mind, but he knew it would quickly be shut down.

“We wanted to get our message out there and this seemed the best way to do it,” he said.

By all accounts, it was thanks to the students’ savvy Internet and technology skills that students were able to organize so quickly.

Mass text messages, e-mails and Myspace bulletins were the backbone of last week’s student walkouts in Bakersfield.

“I heard about the protest through a post I saw on Myspace, which I later reposted,” said Perez, a 15-year-old freshman at West. “I think mostly everybody heard about it through Myspace. Everyone and their mom has a Myspace.”

In fact, students used technology to quickly alter their plans from walking out on March 30 to walking out on March 29 after they had heard school administrators had gotten word of the proposed march, according to Zamora.

Reliving the moment

Different community members and activists who had been involved in previous protests stood by observing as this new generation traveled a path they had once also ventured down.

Among the crowd of seasoned protesters was Dolores Huerta, founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and co-founder of the United Farm Workers; Camila Chavez, director of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and niece of the late labor leader, Cesar Chavez; Lori de Leon, development director for the Dolores Huerta Foundation; and Magda Menendez, director of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.

“These walkouts make a difference. Protesting is good for the young people. It is their right in a democracy,” Huerta said. “In these marches, people get involved and learn. And in the case of these students, they are speaking up for those who cannot vote.”

Chavez added that the walkouts have brought attention to the immigration issue.
Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, said she supported the student efforts, but urged them to work with their schools.

“Immigrants built this nation from the bottom up, and even today, they continue to be a vibrant part of America’s workforce, so it is no wonder that across the nation, passionate people are speaking out,” Parra said in a prepared statement. “I want to encourage more people to speak out and I commend the students throughout the Central Valley that built up the courage to voice their opinions on immigration reform.”

Others like Menendez supported the student’s efforts but feared that disorganization could lead to trouble or someone getting hurt.

“I am worried,” she said. “The key to an effective protest is organization.”

But the students seemed aware of the importance of organization and peaceful protesting to their efforts.

While nearly 4,000 students walked the streets of downtown Bakersfield, there were moments when confusion arose, but a few students stepped up to the plate and took the reins of leadership.

Among these teenage leaders were Perez and Zamora.

“We decided to take the lead because nobody was listening and we had a purpose to go out there, not just to ditch,” Perez said.

Zamora added that he didn’t see anyone else taking control of the situation and knew that if he didn’t, things would get out of hand and their message would be lost.

“We didn’t want to get unorganized,” he said. “We were out there to deliver a message and that would not be done, if people didn’t see that we were serious about what we were doing.”

Many of the students, however, were unclear about the protest, other than it was for something that is hurting immigrants.

Others knew about HR 4437 and knew that they were there to fight for immigrant rights.

Marco Florez, an 18-year-old senior at Centennial High School, also viewed protesting as the best option.

Both of his parents were once immigrants, but are now naturalized citizens.

“These bills affect a lot of people that I know are related to me and not,” Florez said.
“The statue of liberty is a symbol that this is a land for immigrants. These bills shouldn’t even be up for a vote.”

Like many of his young, fellow protesters, Florez believed writing a letter would just fall on deaf ears and no action would be taken.

“Writing a letter is not a big form of civil disobedience,” he said.

Looking back to the anti-war protests of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Florez decided a peaceful disruption in people’s everyday lives was necessary to get the message across.

“That is the most we can do. The next step would be rioting, and we are not going to do that,” he said.

Facing the aftermath

Most students feel that the effort they put forth has paid off, but despite their valiant efforts, many still had to suffer the consequences of their truant activity.

“I am proud of everything we did, especially since we did it without violating any rules — except that of not being in school,” Perez said.

Some students were given detention for walking out of schools.

“I am not saying I am sorry for anything I did at the protest,” Flores said. “My parents didn’t really care. They got mad at me and told me I had better not been cussing and said that waving Mexican flags only made the students look stupid.”

Florez received one day of detention by his school, but his activity of holding an

American flag upside down also caused a little more controversy for him.

He maintains that he held the flag upside down to symbolize how the country would be turned upside down if all the immigrants were kicked out.

“I heard that I have about 50 people calling my school asking for me to get arrested,” he said. “But it all came down to the fact that it was part of my freedom of speech.”
Florez’s parents were also a little angry with him but basically told him not to get hurt, he said.

“I was supportive of what he was doing. I cleared his absence, so he wouldn’t get in trouble,” said Penny Santana, Florez’s mother. “He said, ‘Mom, all the schools are walking out,’ and asked if it was all right, and I said, ‘Yeah, you have the right to voice your opinion,’ and I think their opinion was heard.”

Other parents like Gloria Gomez walked alongside the students.

“If we don’t rise up, then nothing will ever happen,” said Gomez, mother of two West High School students. “We need to fight for liberty, and if it takes the kids missing school, then they will miss it.”

For Zamora, his work and the work of all the students was worth it.

In the end, West High School officials told Zamora not to do it again.

“I am not sure what will happen now, but we knew what we were standing up for,” Zamora said. “If they take away our parents and grandparents, then the tax payers will have to pay to support us, so everyone ends up losing.”


Other immigration bills being proposed in Congress:

S.2454. Filed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, the bill is titled Securing America’s Borders Act (SABA). SABA focuses on border security and interior law enforcement.

S.1033. Filed by Senators John McCain, R-Arizona, and Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts. Would offer temporary work permits inside the United States if undocumented residents pay $1,500 fine. Temporary workers could apply for green cards.

S.1438. Filed by Republican Senators. John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona. Would resemble President George Bush’s proposal for temporary worker program, but would require undocumented immigrants to obtain permits outside the country and would not let them apply for green cards.

S.1919. Filed by Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. Would offer green cards, but to qualify migrants would have to meet stringent requirements.

S.2075. Filed by Senator Richard Durbin, D-Illinois. Titled Development, Relief and Education For Alien Minors or DREAM Act, it would offer legal residence to children of undocumented immigrants so they can go to college and get a job.

To hear exclusive coverage of the Bakersfield student walkouts, listen to Episode 13 & 14 of the Bakotunes Podcast: Bakersfield Students Walkout:
Day 1 & 2 at http://www.bakotopia.com/users/bakotunes To read a personal account of the events, visit: www.bakotopia.com, see “Discussions.”