“It’s not only a way to organize a community in support of our immigrant population, but it’s also a way of informing and educating the generations of future voters that are at Rio about what rights are being taken away,” Saumure said in an interview with the Mirada.
To promote a walkout, student organizers at Rio hung up posters around campus which were soon after taken down by the school.
According to Principal Cliff Kelly, the school’s reasoning behind this action was due to how it imposed on the school’s role as an apolitical institution.
“It was never discussed about putting any posters up and some of the posters were about having a school protest,” said Kelly. “When things are put up on the wall around the school, it looks like it’s something that the administration and school district is in support of.”
Kelly reaffirmed the school’s support for students’ right to express themselves, but that they must follow in accordance with rules and expectations.
“Students can decide to organize if that’s what they would want to do,” Kelly continued. “But it’s different when you start putting things on walls everywhere throughout the school.”
When asked about the posters being taken down, Saumure said that she would comply with the decision of the school administration and maintain a positive relationship with them.
“I’ve been working closely with Mr. Kelly, the principal, about organizing this walkout, and I will remain respectful to him and all of [the] administration,” said Saumure.
California Education Code 48205 grants students the right to one excused absence per year to attend a political or civic event, allowing students to express their First Amendment rights in demonstrations such as these.
However, some students may be concerned about missing classes and falling behind if they choose to attend a protest during school.
“I know that it’s a big sacrifice to walk out of class and miss one of your lessons or potentially miss a quiz, but I think that missing a couple periods of school is less important than your rights being taken away,” said Saumure.
This growing fear around the violation of constitutional rights has been largely due to ICE’s controversial detaining of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“Initially, ICE was kind of a self-contained body and it followed the Constitution and it followed the laws, and with this new administration they have been violating both constitutional rights and human rights,” said Saumure. “We’ve really been promoting the fact that not only are people being killed — both immigrants and American citizens — but there’s also racial targeting; people being detained that have no criminal record.”
Saumure hopes that by working with the school administration, they will support the future generations of students who wish to voice their opinions.
“We’re very closely working with the administration about organization to make sure that this is a respected movement,” said Saumure. “If they see how successful we are in organizing this movement, then they will be supportive of the future generations wanting to do the same.”
