High School students speak out against threats of suspension, school
lock-downs, truancy fines, and threats against teachers and
administrators supportive of protests Nov. 2nd, the beginning of the
end of the Bush regime.
We are the Future and the Future is at Hand-Letters from HS Students
The
following are two statements from High School Youth. One was read by
High School youth in L.A, Friday, at a Press Conference in front of
Fairfax High School. The 2nd is a statement from 2 High School students
in NYC.
******
Statement By L.A High School Student
-L.J
We
are gather here today to put out this call of The World Cant wait Drive
out the Bush Regime, a movement that kicks off on November the second,
a movement that will be remember for generations to come. This date
marks the re-election of george w bush, but after this year this date
will be remembered as Beginning of the end of this whole regime!!!
We
as high school students have not only the right to join this movement
but the responsibility to do so. November the second will be an
extremely important date for all the youth around the united states,
this is because on November the second our future will be decided. Are
we just going to stand on the side lines and continue to be ran by a
bunch of fascist that day by day are taking our rights away ? I say no
more! This has to stop NOW!! .This whole regime, if its not stop now it
will continue to carry on its genocidal agenda. An agenda that was
showed during and on the aftermath of Katrina.
People that want
to prevent us from speaking out against this regime are not so
different from this regime, but really is there anything or anyone that
is important enough to stop thousands of high school students to walk
out of their schools and make the bold statement that this government
does not represent us and that we will drive them out. The future of
this generation and the generations to come is at stake. The tactics
that this regime has been using on people is the same tactic that the
administrators and police will try to use on us. I am speaking of fear.
We will get threaten with tickets, suspension, and probably arrests.
The question is are we going to let these little problems stop us from
facing and fighting a huge problem head on? I say no!! We owe it to the
millions of people that are getting tortured, murdered and left to die
by this regime.
If people in the 60’s wouldn’t have resisted and
fought against segregation head on, we would still be living in a
society in which segregation was a policy that was openly accepted. Now
just think for a minute, if we do not resist and drive out this regime
out, What would the future hold for us? .I’ll tell you what!! It would
be a future in which torture would be looked upon as a good and
necessary thing to do, a future in which women will go back into being
incubators, depriving them from abortions or any type of
contraceptives, and finally a future in which minorities will STILL be
looked upon second class individuals.
This is why I say RESIST
OR DIE! On November the second. Tickets or no tickets, suspensions or
no suspensions, Get out to the streets no matter what. Do not be
intimidated by anyone. This will be a struggle but it will get done.
‘That which you will not resist and mobilize to stop, you will learn-
or be forced-to accept.’ Will you accept this??!?!??
LJ from LAHS.
We will not be intimidated! The future is at hand!
– Statement from NYC High School students
Many students jokingly compare schools to prison.
Recently
that joke has become a frightening reality. Shortly after news of our
organization’s goal to mobilize students to walk out of school on
November 2, 2005, the administration of Martin Luther King high school
stated that the school will be locked down.
On October 27, 2005,
MLK’s administration contacted Beacon School’s administration. Our
arranged meeting at Beacon was cancelled as a result and now also on
lock down for November 2.
This is unacceptable!
Throughout
this week we have received nothing but negative input on our positions
as youth organizers for The World Can’t Wait – Drive out the Bush
Regime. As concerning as it was to have our teacher, especially known
for her activism, tell us that our attempt for youth mobilization was
trivial and “cute”; it only makes us try harder. This teacher openly
stated that we, as teenagers, have no power and we should focus on
people who can vote.
Many students have also brought up this
point. But we Do have power,we are the leaders of TODAY, not tomorrow.
We are living in dangerous times and its important to take action
regardless of how old you are. By participating in November 2 walk out,
we will show our power.
We are the future and the future is at hand.
Victoria Lena and Simóne Luminosa
2 High school Students
(From an all Girl Catholic School in NYC
**************************************
Interview with Chicago High School Students about Nov. 2nd
The following interview is taken from Revolution newspaper, October 29, 2005, posted at revcom.us
Revolution talked with three students at
Chicago’s Roberto Clemente High School who have been organizing for
Nov. 2. Clemente is a heavily Puerto Rican and proletarian school. The
following are excerpts from the interview:
Revolution
talked with three students at Chicago’s Roberto Clemente High School
who have been organizing for Nov. 2. Clemente is a heavily Puerto Rican
and proletarian school. The following are excerpts from the interview:
Revolution: Why are you participating in World Can’t Wait, and why do you think it is important for others to participate?
I: I have grown up in an environment where I’ve
been given this freedom to go and explore different philosophies. And
as I’ve grown up I’ve gone through a lot. But I’ve also realized that
if I can help with something then I’m obligated to do so. So when I see
something like the WCW, I’m perfectly capable to do this for the
betterment of my people and for the betterment of everybody…
M: The way I see it there are a lot of injustices
and a lot of stuff you can be critical of the government… We get
these people and we trust them to guide us and take us in the right
direction. But sometimes we have to step up and say no. Most of the
time they are not willing to listen to the little people. This is a way
of saying we are not small anymore. We are here and you have to listen
to us. We have to fight for ourselves and for other people…
E: I see it as rising up for what you think is
right and wrong. Look what actions Bush is taking right now. Do you
think it’s good or bad?
Revolution: Could you speak on the need and potential to accomplish the goal of driving out the Bush regime?
I: What we are setting out to accomplish right now
is kind of a far-fetched thing, but it is possible… To get rid of
this whole Bush and Bush administration and Bush cabinet is going to be
like tearing down the Berlin Wall but with a couple of people instead
of hundreds. It’s something that has never been done…
M: There is a lot of stuff that we thought couldn’t
be done like going to the moon, flying an airplane… There is always
that possibility that you can do it and it goes down in history. So why
not be part of history now? You know, it’s like solving an equation.
You have the problem there and you know it’s hard and complicated. But
you won’t know if you can solve it or not without trying…
Revolution: Rosa Parks is someone who took a stand.
What is the importance of someone taking a stand first even if a lot of
other people might not be there yet?
I: Taking the first stand is what gets other people
to thinking and gets others to take their stand as well. If let’s say
Rosa Parks didn’t get on the front of that bus, she wouldn’t have
gotten media attention, she wouldn’t have gotten her people’s
attention, she wouldn’t have gotten arrested and she wouldn’t have
started that bus boycott there, which forwarded the movement. If we
don’t take our own stand here, and get it known among our neighborhood
here so they can get their families in on it and their friends in on
it, we are not going to do anything… Taking a stand takes a bit of
courage ( E., M., V. and I are putting ourselves on the line of being
expelled by putting this thing together in our school. Security guards
and administration don’t really like this right now…
M: People always need a leader. Not everyone is
always willing to take a stand. They need to see somebody stepping
forward so a massive movement can arise…
Revolution: What would you say to people who are
trying to figure out if they are going to take that first stand around
the WCW and November 2nd(-to lead a walkout at their highschool, or
organize their campus or work place?
I: If you get your friend in on it and they get
their friends in on it and they get their friends in on it, all of a
sudden you have a nice little mass of people that are ready to go…
The whole point of this is to throw off the city and everything going
on ( to cause such an impact. What if we could shut down the city for a
day? Think of the impact.
M: Many are complaining that Bush is an idiot but
they are not willing to do anything about it. If you have the time to
complain you have the time to do something about it, âcause apathy gets
you nowhere.