Hundreds of Students Stage Walkouts to Protest Prop. 187

Hundreds of middle school students walked out of classes in Pacoima on Thursday in protest of Proposition 187, the ballot measure seeking to bar illegal immigrants from public schools and social services.

The morning walkouts at Maclay and Pacoima middle schools were peaceful, police and school officials said. Carrying an anti-Proposition 187 banner and a Mexican flag, about 300 Maclay students left their classrooms shortly after first period, about 9:10 a.m., school police said. Most returned shortly, but 40 of the students did not come back to school.

Cecilia Costas, principal at Maclay, said she was aware Thursday’s walkout was going to take place because of calls earlier in the day from parents. She said she believes the students and their parents mistakenly believe that pupils will be expelled from school Nov. 8--Election Day.

“I think the kids are terribly misinformed,” Costas said. “We have to do a lot more work in the community . . . to inform people.”

Also on Thursday, students attempted to leave the Bravo Medical Magnet near Downtown but school administrators and police locked the gates and kept the students on campus, said Assistant Chief Richard Page of the school district police.

On Wednesday, about 200 students marched the perimeter of the El Camino Real High School campus in Woodland Hills and last week, hundreds of students walked out of classes at Huntington Park, Bell, South Gate, Los Angeles and Fremont high schools.

“We expect this to continue until Election Day,” Page said. “I think (the students) want to draw attention to the issue . . . but we’re going to make efforts to keep them on campus.”

School administrators and police are planning to meet next week to discuss how to deal with potential problems if the ballot measure passes. Several high schools are holding meetings for students before the election to dispel rumors that the school system would be checking citizenship.

In addition, the school board has hired outside counsel to deal with legal questions that would arise if the proposition passes.

The ballot measure calls for schools to verify students’ legal status and ultimately to report illegal students and their parents to authorities. The Los Angeles Board of Education has voted to oppose the measure and expects to join in legal challenges if it passes.

District officials say that although they believe an outside group is responsible for organizing the student walkouts, they are unsure which group.

Scott Macdonald, a spokesman for Taxpayers Against 187, said his group does not support the protests and that the students are sending the wrong message to voters. “We do not believe this educates the voters about the problems of 187--we believe it distracts them,” Macdonald said. “We encourage kids to stay in school--that’s one of the things this is all about.”

About 150 Pasadena High School students also cut classes Thursday morning and walked to City Hall to protest Proposition 187.

The students left the school about 8:15 a.m. and headed downtown, where they were intercepted by school administrators, Principal Kathy Lesley said.

Lesley said the students conducted themselves in an orderly manner and that the school did not plan to punish them.