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Bayshore Students Take Part in 'Festive' Protest

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 May 2006, 09:01 CDT

By Carl Mario Nudi, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

May 02--MANATEE -- As the ringing bell pierced the quiet of the parking lot to signal the 8:45 a.m. class change at Bayshore High School on Monday, about a dozen students walked out the front door.

For the next 15-20 minutes more students trickled out of the school building in groups of five, eight, 10 and larger, to join the rally in support of immigration reform in the United States.

By the time the crowd of students reached the vacant lot at 53rd Avenue and 34th Street West, they were about 120 strong, waving American flags, chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A," and holding signs in a real-life civics lesson.

Bayshore High senior Jesus Gonzalez, 17, said he helped organize the rally because some of his fellow students will not be able to continue their college education after high school graduation without help from the DREAM Act.

"A lot of their parents are immigrants working for minimum wages," Gonzalez said. "They came to this country for better opportunities."

U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., reintroduced the DREAM Act into the Senate in November. The new version of the original 2003 bill would allow most students of immigrant parents who came to the United States before they were 16 to qualify for conditional permanent resident status if they were accepted to college, graduated from high school, or achieved a general equivalency diploma.

Gonzalez said he was born in Matamoros, Mexico, and came to the United States when he was 1 year old, but is now a permanent resident.

"My family came (to the United States) for a better life," he said. "There's more opportunities."

The rally had a festive tone as the students stood along 53rd Avenue West waving American flags and colorful signs and posters.

Many of the passing motorists sounded the horns of their vehicles to show their support. A few drove by giving a thumbs-down sign, and one yelled a racial slur at the crowd of students reflecting different backgrounds.

Student Chrissy Talbert, whose family came from Ireland two generations ago, said she left class to support the ideals of America.

"This country was built on freedom," Talbert said. "Anyone should be allowed to come to the United States."

Fredessa Watson, 18, whose family has lived in the United States for generations, said she joined the walkout to show support for friends and family.

"This isn't just about Hispanics, but all immigrants," said Watson, a senior at the school. "We all come here to make a better life and deserve the same right as everyone else."

Ninth-grader Elias Guarderama, 14, said he participated because he wanted equal rights protection also.

"My parents are trying to make a living and follow the American dream," Guarderama said. "If you go to school from elementary to high school, you should be able to go as far as you can."

Many children of undocumented immigrants attend 12 years of public school, but because they are not considered Florida residents do not qualify for the Bright Futures scholarships no matter how well they did in high school.

"We do the work other people are not willing to do," Guarderama said. "What would happen in the fields without the Hispanics?"

After Gonzalez addressed the crowd of students and adult observers from the bed of a red pickup truck, the students marched down 34th Street West back to the school grounds.

Bayshore High School Principal David Underhill was there to greet them and told the students teachers and school staff would provide the marchers with notes to re-enter class.

Underhill said his main concern was the "safety of my kids," as he watched the students from a distance without interfering with their rally.

"I think the kids left class and the school in a quiet and respectable manner," he said. "They handled themselves wonderfully."

Underhill said he was proud of his students standing up for something in which they believe in an appropriate manner.

"And I'm proud they came back to school," he said.

When asked if the students will face any type of punishment, the principal said he was going to follow school rules and state laws.

Discipline would be determined on an individual basis, Underhill said.

Also observing the activities from afar was C.J. Czaia, a local attorney and chairman of the Manatee County Democratic Executive Committee.

Czaia said he met with Underhill last week, along with the student organizers.

"I was there to help," he said. "I did not organize or encourage the students."

As Czaia watched the students gather in the vacant lot, he said he was impressed with their activism.

"This is breathtaking," he said. "It's democracy in action."

The Bayshore High walkout was part of A Day Without An Immigrant, a series of events -- vigils, rallies, protests and boycotts -- across the country. Locally some supporters of immigration reform stayed home from work or school to participate.

"Yes, we did have higher levels of absenteeism," said Margi Nanney, spokeswoman for the Manatee County School District.

Nanney said some schools in the county saw as many as three times the usual number of absences Monday. But, she said, it was "in keeping with what we expected."

The absences, she said, are not considered "excused absences." Students will have to deal with their teachers and administrators in regard to makeup work.

- Herald Staff Reporter Erica Rodriguez contributed to this report

Bayshore ninth-grader

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)

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