Alemany Parents to Protest Disciplining of ‘Dance Crew’

Parents angered by the expulsion and suspension of their children from Alemany High School over the students’ involvement in a “dance crew” plan to protest at the campus this week.

Vince Mercado, whose daughter was suspended and put on probation because of her association with a group called II Romantik, said the parents will rally in front of the Mission Hills campus at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

School administrators at the Roman Catholic high school took the action Friday, expelling eight male students and suspending four female students. Mercado said the parents plan to protest the decision to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The “crews” are loose-knit groups of students who perform their dance routines at parties.

Administrators at the school said Friday they asked the boys in II Romantik to withdraw from Alemany due to fears that the group’s presence may incite violence from students at other schools in the area.

The school’s principal, the Rev. Robert Milbauer, added that school policy prohibits students from forming dance crews that might be linked to gangs. However, the students have vehemently denied any participation in gangs.

Both parents and students argue that officials are overreacting. They cite the academic achievement and participation in academic clubs of many of the youths as proof that they are model students.

“It’s more than apparent that [Milbauer] doesn’t want to even listen to parents,” Mercado said.

The parents hope to force the school to overturn the disciplinary actions. Mercado charged that the expulsions and suspensions may have been racially motivated, because all the students involved are of Vietnamese or Filipino descent.