Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Senior Students Skip in Plucky Protest Protest

Students ditch class after district cancels class trip to Grand Canyon

MAY 13, SAN DIEGO (AP) — With shouts of “Arizona sucks! Why punish us!?” high-school seniors all over San Diego staged a massive lunchtime rally today before walking out on their afternoon classes. The event was held in response to a San Diego Unified School board decision to forbid district-related travel in Arizona, following that state’s recent passage of a controversial law aimed at reducing the problems associated with illegal immigration. (The law requires Arizona police to detain, interrogate, and possibly deport “suspicious-looking characters of dusky complexion.”)

Following the Denver school district’s adoption of the travel ban in late April, the San Diego Board voted on May 12 to adopt a similar policy for both employees and students under its jurisdiction. Said board president Richard Barrera, “We have a responsibility to protect all children, and part of that protection means doing what we can to ensure that they grow up in a country where they don’t have to worry about coming home from school to find that their parents have been deported. Denver has set an example for educational institutions around the country, and it’s an example we are proud to follow.”

The move was considerably stronger than the board’s May 11 vote to warn students and their parents to avoid traveling in Arizona in order to avoid deportation. “The first vote felt pretty good,” said a board member who wished to remain anonymous. “Righteous, even. We figured the second would feel even better.”

The response was considerably stronger as well.

Some district janitors who had been planning to attend this year’s Institutional Janitors’ International Training Seminar (IJITS), scheduled to be held somewhere in the desert outside Sedona in early June, staged an impromptu strike of sorts. According to reports from visibly shaken school officials, they left

several key bathrooms uncleaned — and, in some cases, unflushed. A handwritten letter found stuck to the front door of Hoover High School in City Heights explained that the move was a protest against policies that valued “dirty Mexicans over hard workin [sic] American custodial professionals.” The letter had been affixed to the door by several dozen pieces of used chewing gum.

But the real outcry came from the thousands of embittered students who had been eagerly anticipating the district-wide senior field trip to the Grand Canyon at the end of the month. The trip, which took three years to organize, was described in some circles as “Burning Man for the 18-and-under set” and promised to be totally epic.

Though the school district billed the event as “an opportunity to explore one of the world’s greatest natural wonders while building community in a safe, supervised environment,” some students had other agendas. “We were all set to ditch during the group hike to the canyon floor and spend two days just camping out in the desert,” said San Diego High School’s Paul VanDerMeyer. “Joe Herschorn had scored a whole mess of [ecstasy], and I was going to sneak a bottle of my dad’s Jägermeister. Ashley Minkins said she wanted to party with us! I was finally going to score!

“Now, the Man and his bureaucratic [expletive] machine have taken a political flame-thrower to my dream and left it in ashes,” he concluded, lofting an egg in the direction of a car parked in the school’s faculty lot. “What a waste.”

Board president Barrera disagreed. “Don’t these students

get it? We’re protesting — against a grave injustice. Protesting our protest is a terrible mistake, and not in the best interests of students who hope to keep their permanent records free of troublesome insinuations.” But the threat of official action seemed to carry little weight with the students, who stood as one before what one senior called “the dictatorial whims of those who dared to speak out on our behalf without first gaining our consent.”

“No staycation without representation!” she then cried, raising her fist into the air.

Toward the protest’s end, senior Sally “Supersize It” McDonald expressed relief that her geology class’s upcoming trip to Monument Valley was, as of press time, still scheduled to go ahead. “It’s cool,” she observed, “because there are all these cool rock outcroppings, and the park is, like, an Indian park. It even has this really cool [Navajo] name” — Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii — “that you could use if you were an Indian rapper. Anyway, part of the park is in Utah, so we’ll just go visit that part.” McDonald expressed concern, however, that “there are lots of Mormons in Utah, and they gave all that money to keep the gays from getting married” by donating to California’s Proposition 8. “I hope the school doesn’t decide to boycott them, too. At least, not until next year.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

2024’s Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos – Play BTC Casino Games Online

Best Bitcoin Casinos (2024): Top 10 Crypto Casino Sites for BIG Payouts

Students ditch class after district cancels class trip to Grand Canyon

MAY 13, SAN DIEGO (AP) — With shouts of “Arizona sucks! Why punish us!?” high-school seniors all over San Diego staged a massive lunchtime rally today before walking out on their afternoon classes. The event was held in response to a San Diego Unified School board decision to forbid district-related travel in Arizona, following that state’s recent passage of a controversial law aimed at reducing the problems associated with illegal immigration. (The law requires Arizona police to detain, interrogate, and possibly deport “suspicious-looking characters of dusky complexion.”)

Following the Denver school district’s adoption of the travel ban in late April, the San Diego Board voted on May 12 to adopt a similar policy for both employees and students under its jurisdiction. Said board president Richard Barrera, “We have a responsibility to protect all children, and part of that protection means doing what we can to ensure that they grow up in a country where they don’t have to worry about coming home from school to find that their parents have been deported. Denver has set an example for educational institutions around the country, and it’s an example we are proud to follow.”

The move was considerably stronger than the board’s May 11 vote to warn students and their parents to avoid traveling in Arizona in order to avoid deportation. “The first vote felt pretty good,” said a board member who wished to remain anonymous. “Righteous, even. We figured the second would feel even better.”

The response was considerably stronger as well.

Some district janitors who had been planning to attend this year’s Institutional Janitors’ International Training Seminar (IJITS), scheduled to be held somewhere in the desert outside Sedona in early June, staged an impromptu strike of sorts. According to reports from visibly shaken school officials, they left

several key bathrooms uncleaned — and, in some cases, unflushed. A handwritten letter found stuck to the front door of Hoover High School in City Heights explained that the move was a protest against policies that valued “dirty Mexicans over hard workin [sic] American custodial professionals.” The letter had been affixed to the door by several dozen pieces of used chewing gum.

But the real outcry came from the thousands of embittered students who had been eagerly anticipating the district-wide senior field trip to the Grand Canyon at the end of the month. The trip, which took three years to organize, was described in some circles as “Burning Man for the 18-and-under set” and promised to be totally epic.

Though the school district billed the event as “an opportunity to explore one of the world’s greatest natural wonders while building community in a safe, supervised environment,” some students had other agendas. “We were all set to ditch during the group hike to the canyon floor and spend two days just camping out in the desert,” said San Diego High School’s Paul VanDerMeyer. “Joe Herschorn had scored a whole mess of [ecstasy], and I was going to sneak a bottle of my dad’s Jägermeister. Ashley Minkins said she wanted to party with us! I was finally going to score!

“Now, the Man and his bureaucratic [expletive] machine have taken a political flame-thrower to my dream and left it in ashes,” he concluded, lofting an egg in the direction of a car parked in the school’s faculty lot. “What a waste.”

Board president Barrera disagreed. “Don’t these students

get it? We’re protesting — against a grave injustice. Protesting our protest is a terrible mistake, and not in the best interests of students who hope to keep their permanent records free of troublesome insinuations.” But the threat of official action seemed to carry little weight with the students, who stood as one before what one senior called “the dictatorial whims of those who dared to speak out on our behalf without first gaining our consent.”

“No staycation without representation!” she then cried, raising her fist into the air.

Toward the protest’s end, senior Sally “Supersize It” McDonald expressed relief that her geology class’s upcoming trip to Monument Valley was, as of press time, still scheduled to go ahead. “It’s cool,” she observed, “because there are all these cool rock outcroppings, and the park is, like, an Indian park. It even has this really cool [Navajo] name” — Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii — “that you could use if you were an Indian rapper. Anyway, part of the park is in Utah, so we’ll just go visit that part.” McDonald expressed concern, however, that “there are lots of Mormons in Utah, and they gave all that money to keep the gays from getting married” by donating to California’s Proposition 8. “I hope the school doesn’t decide to boycott them, too. At least, not until next year.”

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.