@ the East Central ISD School Board Meeting
Thursday 2/26 @ 5pm
6634 New Sulphur Springs Rd, San Antonio
Arrive early for public comment sign up!
YOUR VOICE MATTERS. STAND UP AGAINST STUDENT REPRESSION!
On February 13th, around 30 East Central High School students bravely stepped past the gates of their school as part of a national wave of walkouts demanding justice for those hunted, kidnapped, and executed by ICE. Though their numbers were small, they drew courage from the knowledge that they were joining thousands of students from across the county who refuse to be silent while people are being killed by ICE and are rotting in detention centers.
During the walkout, school admin and police harassed the student protestors and attempted to shut them down. When the students proved that they would not be intimidated, admin corralled them into a nearby cafe and chased them with a golf cart. They held students off of school grounds, against their will, and forced them to give up their names. After this outrageous cat and mouse game, East Central admin gave students the harshest and most extreme punishments they could muster, ranging from expulsions and 45 days of alternate disciplinary school to in school suspensions (ISS).
These students did not face this repression alone. Almost immediately, a phone zap was coordinated, activists demanded answers at a schoolboard meeting, and the media interviewed students and their guardians about the school’s inappropriate response. One day after the media released the story and the schoolboard was confronted, the most extreme punishments were rolled back: a student who was expelled was re-enrolled, and the one facing 45 days of alternate disciplinary school was told he would instead get 45 days of ISS.
The pressure on East Central forced them to concede and roll back harsh punishments. This turn of events proves that we can fight student repression but it is an incomplete victory. Many students are still facing ISS, stains on their academic records, and exclusion from school activities. It is right to rebel against ICE and any politician or school administrator that is punishing students for expressing their dissent is on the wrong side of history. Student repression serves to legitimize this modern day gestapo and must be opposed.
It is our job to keep the pressure on administrators that continue to punish students for righteously taking a stand against ICE. This small victory we’ve achieved can turn into a massive win for students all across Texas and the nation who are facing harsh and even violent repression for their walkouts. We must stand with students and demand that East Central ISD drop all punishments and expunge all disciplinary actions from students’ records.
We are calling on not just students and youth, but on parents, teachers, lawyers, and other people who want to help fight student repression to join us at our press conference outside of the East Central ISD school board meeting this Thursday February 26th at 5pm and echo our demands.
If you want to give public comment arrive early for the sign up sheet school boards sign up sheet.
Donate to support activists building a movement against ICE here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-activists-building-a-movement-against-ice/cl/s?lang=en_US
¡No tenemos miedo!
We are not afraid!
Dare to Struggle 