With the State of California’s execution of Stanley Tookie Williams last nite, it is a day to hang one’s head. Fortunately, some folks in Arnie’s native Austria are now trying to revoke his citizenship for his savage gubernatorial policies.
[As said by Dave Zirin, “watching Schwarzenegger in action has been to observe the nexus of cold-hearted political calculation and cowardice. “]

Yet, we cannot hang our heads for long, particularly considering the continued onslaught against youth and students, as reflected in recent weeks in Hampton, VA and Kansas City, MO.

At historically black college, Hampton University, a group of students who demonstrated some self-interest (and challenged that oft-commented misconception of student apathy) were threatened with expulsion. The students had posted fliers critical of President Bush’s policies and their impacts on youth and students.

At a disciplinary hearing on Friday, the cowardly HU administration backed down from threats of sending the students packing by commanding that they perform 20 hours of community service. As one of the targeted students said it plainly:

“The community service is reasonable, but what we had to go through to get to this point was not reasonable,”

Fortunately, this small group of students received considerable support from allies like the US Student Association (USSA), United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and the ACLU (whose lawyer advised the students in the hearing Friday).

Yet, this is the latest occurrence in an on-going repression of student voices and interests by the school, refusing to officially recognize chapters of Amnesty International or USAS.

Further west, in Kansas City high schooler, Zach Rubio, was suspended for …. speaking Spanish. When challenged by Rubio’s father, one school administrator was quoted as saying “This is not Mexico. This is not Germany,” according to the Kansas City Kansan.

Again authorities backed off when confronted, with the school board hastily inviting Rubio back to Endeavor Alternative School after his 36-hour suspension.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2005 at 12:58 pm by Chad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.