Groups plan to protest outside Live Oak High School May 5
Published in the April 30- May 13, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Dylan Kral and Amy Guzman
As Americans, we all want to be independent. To do so, we need to learn to respect each other’s rights and beliefs.
The Cinco de Mayo incident that occurred at Live Oak High School in 2010 provides us with a lesson about how, as Americans, even though we might have opposing views, we still need to respect each other’s opinions.
Four years ago, five Live Oak High School students came to school wearing American flag attire on May 5. The school administration thought it was in the boys’ best interest to turn their T-shirts inside out or go home to ensure their safety. During the years leading up to the incident, the school culture faced difficulty with racial tension between some Caucasian and Mexican students that resulted in violence.
Since 2010, the racial tensions have been greatly reduced and the school culture is more unified than it has been in many decades. We students learned from the incident how important it is to set aside our prejudices and embrace each other as Americans.
The parents of the students involved in the 2010 incident sued the Morgan Hill Unified School District, saying that the students’ civil rights were violated because they couldn’t wear patriotic clothes.
In February this year, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided in favor of the school, reasoning that “school officials did not violate the students’ right to freedom of expression, due process or equal protection.” Given the history of the school, including altercations on the campus, the court said “it was reasonable for school officials to proceed as though the threat of a potentially violent disturbance was real.” The court case has ignited a passion in certain groups within the South Valley region who feel it is their patriotic duty to come to Live Oak’s campus and stand up for their constitutional rights.
We agree that they do have that right to express their patriotism and pride in America. However, we believe that it is unproductive and unnecessary to disturb the learning environment at Live Oak and potentially create an emotionally volatile situation that might result in violence.
In response to the demonstrations, multiple news organizations will park their vehicles in the area outside the campus. There will also be a high level of Morgan Hill Police Department officers and county sheriff deputies present. The media circus will bring many spectators to watch the drama unfold, adding to the already tense situation.
Adding to this atmosphere, this year’s May 5 marks the beginning of a stressful time for Live Oak students. That day, many of us will start taking Advanced Placement tests to get into a higher level of college classes. During this week, we also will start studying for finals, a stressful time during the school year for all students.
As Americans, we know the constitutional rights that we value also come with the price of responsibility. We have to learn to respect all people regardless of their background. As students, we respect that Americans have the right to protest and demonstrate in a peaceful manner. But we also believe it is important to understand when and where it is appropriate to protest.
We ask that, instead of creating chaos at our school on May 5, you respect our rights as Americans and as students and take your protest to a more appropriate setting such as City Hall, the school district headquarters, or the county courthouse in Morgan Hill.
Amy Guzman and Dylan Kral are seniors at Live Oak High School. They wrote this commentary for Morgan Hill Life.
Amy Guzman
Dylan Kral
