Media Incites
Kids
Students Walk Out of Classrooms
By Daniel Muniz
The city of San Antonio Texas was relatively quiet while other
large metropolitan areas across the country with huge Hispanic
populations took to the streets in massive demonstrations to
passionately protest the Capitol debate of illegal aliens. As a
Hispanic as well as a resident of this city, I was rather pleased
that the city practically ignored the issue since it was instigated
more by racial arsonists and political opportunists.
That is, until the local newspaper, The Express-News, decided to
stir things up so that they could create the news instead of
reporting it. The newspaper sensationalized the “non-reaction” in
this city, especially in dramatizing how many students walked out of
classes in other parts of the country.
The newspaper then got the response it hoped for.
A few hundred students, from a city with a population of over one
million, walked out of their schools and to protest illegal
immigration reform. And of course, the Express-News was there and
they put that story on the front page as shown in their picture on
the top of this article.
The response was quick. Below are the published comments from
readers of the newspaper:
"It was not up to
Express-News standards," said Yolanda Davila, who retired from the
San Antonio Independent School District after 37 year teaching
grades 2-8... Davila told me reporter Hernan Rozemberg should have
taken a different "angle" with his story about the reaction -- or
virtual lack of reaction -- here to federal immigration reform. "You
could have enlightened these young people. They had the option of
debating within the school. I was concerned about these students'
safety," Davila said.
"I hope you are pleased
with what you did, stirring up all this trouble," one said.
"You prodded these
students to get up and protest," said the other. "If any of them get
hurt, a lot of the blame should go to the Express-News."
Incidentally, a teenage protestor did get clipped by
a passing
motorist. And amazingly, the arrogance of the managing editor tried
to minimize the impact of his newspaper:
Managing Editor Thacker said the story had validity considering
the intensity of protests in other cities with heavy
Mexican-American populations. For example, one in Los Angeles March
25 drew more than a half million people.
"With these immigration
protests popping up all over the nation, it takes quite an
imagination to connect the dots to Friday's events in San Antonio to
a single story in the newspaper," Thacker said.
What you really mean is that this non-story was exactly what you
wanted for a front page story. Stick some TV cameras (the newspaper
and one local TV news station is one and the same entity) and media
photographers and you got people going wild.
However, the various school districts reacted differently to the
demonstrations. Some sent school busses that honked their horns in
an attempt to bring the kids back. Another district sent their
campus police just to monitor, not intervene, the situation.
Afterwards, one district suspended the protestors, which is
probably the most appropriate punishment. The purpose of an
education to teach a student; it has no obligation to ensure that
your recreational or political desires are fulfilled. Many schools
considered the option of doing a lock-down to maintain order and to
prevent additional walk outs.
However, the actions of other districts were more troubling. Some
schools just gave the students unexcused absences and required them
to make up their missed school work. Like that is a real punishment
since many teenagers do so little homework in the first place.
And the rest of the schools gave absolutely no punishment at all.
In fact, Carmen Vázquez-González, spokeswoman for the very large San
Antonio district eagerly exclaimed that San Antonio administrators:
"…really want to look at
this as a teaching tool."
What about the most obvious problem? How can a district use this
incident as a teaching tool when there are no students in the
classroom to teach to?
Overall, the newspaper got what it wanted. One sensational story
lead to another sensational story and this can still be milked out
for days. Although a little bit of guilt did enter the conscience of
editors, Bob Ricter:
Students should educate
themselves, debate the issues, call and write their congressmen and
take their citizenship seriously. And do it within the rules of law
and your school district. You do yourselves and your issues no good
by playing hooky from school and/or getting suspended.
That is a really fine statement in which you admonish the very
same kids that you provoked to do this in the first place. Your
newspaper was screaming that everybody else was doing it and if you
do it too, we will be there with reporters, even if you are playing
hooky.
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