[wvns] High Schoolers Expelled for Sit-In
Parents Urge High School to Reverse Expulsions for Students Who Held
'Day of Dead' Iraq War Protest
Stop expulsion of HS activists
Sign Petition Below
Checkout www.lovinrevolution.org/beta/ for pictures, other reports,
music and more.
- Petition in support of students draws signatures from Gold Star mom
Cindy Sheehan, peace activist Kathy Kelly, antiwar veterans, teachers,
parents and students across the nation.
- School administrators say they will expel dozens of students who
took part in peaceful school cafeteria sit-in to voice opposition to
Iraq War – and routine presence of military recruiters.
Berwyn – Parents of Morton West High School students will gather for a
press conference at 9:30 AM Tuesday, November 6 in front of the
school, to urge school administrators to reverse their decision to
expel dozens of children who marked All Saints Day last week by
staging a peaceful, non-violent sit-in at the school cafeteria to
voice opposition to the Iraq War.
The November 1 school cafeteria event served in part as a counterpoint
in the school setting to military recruiters on campus, who routinely
visit the high school cafeteria seeking to enlist young people into
military service.
Dozens of students participated in the anti-war protest through the
course of the day. All Saints Day -- November 1 – is a revered holiday
in the Latino community, when families and friends traditionally
gather to honor dead loved onesloved ones.
Students complied with an administrator's request to move the action
outside the cafeteria after initially being assured that the only
disciplinary action they would face was citation for cutting classes.
But administrators have since issued formal expulsion notices to
dozens of students, suspended many more, and threatened to bring
criminal charges against students age 17 and older who participated in
the anti-war action.
School administrators also put the school on lockdown briefly during
the All Saints Day protest. That action stands in stark contrast to
administrators' response to a report of a student with a gun on campus
last month. In that incident, administrators chose not to lock down
the school.
At the press conference, parents and students will read a letter to
the superintendent demanding complete amnesty for the students before
delivering the letter to the School District 201 office.
Administrators have said they'll issue final decisions on appeals of
the suspensions, on Tuesday – but also say expulsion orders still
stand. The District 201 School Board will meet at 7PM at Morton East
High School on Wednesday evening, located at 2423 S. Austin in Cicero.
The students are marshalling national support through the blogosphere,
the Illinois Coalition for Peace & Justice (www.ilcpj.org) and a
national petition circulated by a local chapter of Students for a
Democratic Society. Signers include Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan,
anti-war activist Kathy Kelly, authors Jeffrey St. Claire and Joshua
Frank, a growing number of anti-war military veterans, local Berwyn
residents and teachers, and supporters from New York to Oregon.
To view the national petition in support of the students, see this link:
www.petitiononline.com/mortonw/petition.html
For more information on the case, go to chicago.indymedia.org.
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