School is no more the place for students to be told that Republicans hate Latinos anymore than it is the place to teach kids that Democrats hate Christians, a Tucson Republican lawmaker says.
That’s exactly why Rep. Jonathon Paton, R-30, wants the Tucson Unified School District to explain why it allowed Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union and the right-hand mujer of Cesar Chavez, to give a 30-minute political speech to about 800 students at an April 3 Tucson Magnet High School assembly. Students from other district high schools were also in attendance, though it is not clear which other schools were represented.
“Republicans hate Latinos, okay? Republicans hate Latinos,” Ms. Huerta told the students who attended the lecture. The remarks were greeted by applause from the students.
Roger Pfeuffer, superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District, said Ms. Huerta’s remarks about Republicans were inappropriate.
“What she said about Republicans is unfortunate and, frankly, is something we absolutely abhor in our classrooms,” he said. “It’s stereotyping at its worst.”
However, he said district officials didn’t stop the speech after the comments because it wasn’t their place to do that to someone with Ms. Huerta’s stature, as she is nationally recognized as a civil rights leader.
Rep. Paton: No political
agendas at schools
The speech will be the focus of an April 20 meeting of the House Select Committee on Government Operations, Performance and Waste; the committee will also examine the district’s use of school buses to transport students from pro-immigration rallies in Tucson.
Mr. Paton says public schools shouldn’t be used as a platform to espouse political stances.
“I don’t want our schools to be the plaything of any administrator who has a political agenda, whether that’s on the right or on the left,” he said. “Why give them a political forum [at school] at all? Let the kids get involved in politics after 2 p.m. of before school.”
School officials defend speech
School district officials told the Arizona Daily Star April 12 the comments were taken out of context and the speech was educational.
Mr. Pfeuffer told Arizona Capitol Times the speech was only one part of a “360-degree view” of immigration the district is presenting to students, but it has received the most attention because it is the only item that was recorded.
In the speech, which is available to the public on the district’s Web site, Ms. Huerta congratulated the students who participated in a March 29 and March 30 rallies for immigrant rights and encouraged students to attend the April 10 march. She also said:
Illegal immigrants “have earned the right to be here in this country” because they work hard and pay taxes.
U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) “wants to punish everybody.”
Latinos are the continent’s indigenous people. “We were here before the border and we’ll be here long after the border is gone.”
Illegal immigrants are here because of U.S. policies, such as NAFTA and supporting dictatorships in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is doing the right thing by redistributing that country’s wealth to provide jobs and free healthcare. “We are the richest country in the world. Why can’t we do that in the United States?”
The government has used abortion rights and gay marriage to distract the public from the war in Iraq.
The English-speaking media have failed to tell the public what’s happening in Iraq and how tax dollars are being given to the wealthy.
“Wealth isn’t wrong, as long as you use it for the people, like Hugo Chavez is doing in Venezuela.”
Minimum wage should be between $16- and $22 an hour and only labor unions will be able to achieve that.
Arizona’s right-to-work laws are bad because they don’t allow unions to get a foothold.
The legislation Congress is considering that would not give amnesty to illegal immigrants are “just like” the labor laws passed in the 1930s that were “racist” and prohibited farm workers from unionizing.
Students should “knock on doors” to help get U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva reelected.
“There are a lot of bad laws we need to get reversed.”
“In order to fight the racism in this society, we have to celebrate our indigenous looks…because we need to be proud of our culture, especially in our young people, so we can get the type of dignity that we need.”
Students who don’t pass the AIMS test the first time need to take it again. “You do not have to be the first to get there, but you have to know how to arrive.”
“Down with Proposition 200! Abajo! Down with the Minutemen! Abajo!”
“We’ve got to help get people elected so we can throw out the bad guys.”
“The Latino community is under attack.”
“We have a big agenda that we have to take care of.”
“If that isn’t political from start to finish,” Mr. Paton said, “what is political?”
Mr. Pfeuffer conceded the topic was a political one, but said the students need to be exposed to political and social issues.
“I think it’s our responsibility to present different views,” he said.
Rep. Gallardo: Hearing will be ‘political posturing’
Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-13, is a member of the House select committee that will question district officials about the speech. He said nothing positive will come of the hearing and it is politically motivated to attack the pro-immigration movement.
“This is about political posturing,” he said. “It’s going to be a waste — it’s a school board issue, not a legislative issue.”
Mr. Gallardo, who is also a member of the Phoenix Union School District governing board, said political speeches help educate students, but they should be hosted during lunch or after the school day is over.
“As long as it doesn’t interfere with the classroom, I think it’s fine,” he said. “The kids are there for educational purposes and they need to study real hard for AIMS and other accountability measures that are in place.”
Although TUSD officials told the Daily Star the assembly was voluntary, Mr. Paton says he has spoken with students who have told him otherwise. He says students who tried to leave the speech were prevented from doing so.
Mr. Pfeuffer said there was a miscommunication between the administration and a teacher who was unaware the assembly was voluntary. When a student asked to leave the speech, he told her she couldn’t.
Mr. Paton sent the district a letter April 6 asking it to explain why Ms. Huerta was allowed to give a political speech to students.
Committee to meet April 20
The House Select Committee on Government Operations, Performance and Waste will meet April 20 at 3 p.m. Mr. Paton is a member of the committee.
The committee will also query the district about their use of school buses to pick up students who left school to attend pro-immigration rallies March 29 and 30.
“The real issue for a lot of people,” Mr. Paton said, “is this is the message they’re sending kids: Ditch school and we’ll take you home.”