Amnesty International Chapter Ban on Campus

As a new property owner in Mission Viejo, I would like to express my deep disappointment that a very authoritarian approach is being taken to restrict student-initiated educational endeavors. I am referring to an attempt to squash the formation of an Amnesty International chapter among the students, despite its widespread acceptance at high schools around the country.

I understand and support the exclusion of religious groups from the campus, as it would violate the separation of church and state, but I see no righteous reason to block a secular chapter of Amnesty International. I see far more reasons to welcome such an endeavor of young citizens and future leaders. Not only does it enhance leadership skills, it also teaches cultural and political geography as it forces its members to learn more about the countries where the political prisoners are located.

Frankly, I believe that the lack of support for AI by school district officials is politically motivated and does not reflect the best interests of the students. Unfortunately, today in our society organized sympathetic concern for oppressed people is shunned as “liberal” and therefore bad.

As we live in a conservative region of the state (though recent surveys conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates find Orange County residents to be far less conservative when asked about specific issues), elected officials fear the loss of their office if they appear to be supporting “liberalism”.

By opposing AI on campus, however, they are discouraging curiosity and concern among students, much needed traits in an age of apathy that many fear will create mediocre leaders. What message will the district be giving to students if it bans AI? How are young people today supposed to develop a strong moral code and concern for their community if discouraged by the very adults to whom they are supposed to look for guidance?

It is not enough to preach that young people ought to say “no” to drugs; they must be able to say “yes” to those impulses which are good and constructive.

To deny students an AI chapter on the basis that there is a rule against “non-academic” organizations on campus during school hours is to place the importance of arbitrary rules above the needs of students. If there is no better reason than the fact a rule exists, then maybe the rule should be changed.

KAREN D. PYKE

Mission Viejo