Another Incident of Repression of High School Students:
Granada Hills High School in California punishes student for wearing a world can’t wait sticker.
Contact the school and demand this repression stop: (818) 360-2361, http://www.granadahillshighschool.com/contact/
Statement from Joseph A. Chavez, Parent and Guardian of Davey Moore Chavez:
On
11-2-05, at 10:30a, my son Davey Moore Chavez, who is a sophomore at
Granada Hills High School, was wearing a, “World Can’t Wait, Drive out
the Bush regime!” sticker on his t-shirt. A school official
approached him and ordered that he remove the sticker. When he
refused, a school police officer (Officer Bowen) was called and grabbed
my son by the arm and demanded that he comply with the school
official’s instructions. Again he refused and was sent to the
Dean’s office. The Dean, Mr. Percy Pleasant, told him to remove
the sticker because it did not represent the opinion of the school and
that the school was no place for him to express his political
opinions. When my son told him about today’s march and walk-out
and what it represents, he became very agitated and again demanded that
he remove the sticker or he would face a serious punishment. My
son then told them, “If you want me to take off the sticker, then I
have to take everything off as well.” With the exception of his
underwear, my son took off his clothing and told them, “You can take my
cloths and the sticker, but you can’t take what I believe in my
heart. This war is wrong and the word needs to get
out!”
The
Dean then sent him to the Nurses office, because he thought my son was,
“off-balanced, or under the influence of some controlled
substance.” The nurse/social worker, Barbara Ackerman, told my
son that she supports what he was standing up for and that it was wrong
for the factuality to react the way they did to him and the other
students who were wearing the sticker. She told him that as a
youth, she was involved in the peace movement during the Vietnam
Conflict and that he should contact her if he ever needed help in the
future.
I
met with the Mr. Percy later that day at 2:50p. When I told Mr.
Percy that I supported my son’s stance and beliefs, he told me, “If
your son wants to change the world, maybe he should become a Senator
and go about it the right way. The school is no place for him to
express his personal political beliefs.” He then told me that in
regards to the war in Iraq, “Some wars are necessary and some wars are
not.” After telling me that his son was in the Marines and had
just returned from a couple of tours in Iraq, I told him that my son
and every student that voices their opinion about stopping this war
should be commended and not punished for exercising their 1st Amendment
Rights. He then told me, “Well that’s where you and I just
differ.”
Before leaving he told me that it hadn’t been decided what action
should be taken against my son for defying a school official. He
told me that he was going to speak with the Vice Principal and let me
know what had been decided.
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In addition to the information in the above statement, and a telling exposure of this
repression, a Christian organization openly hold group prayers in a
public lunch area, with banners and flyers and everything, while Davey
Moore Chavez wasn’t even allowed to where a sticker.