Few Student Protesters Show Up at Rally

By noon the student protesters had not shown up.

While mothers and fathers rallied in support of Los Angeles schools Supt. Ruben Zacarias, most students spent Friday morning the way they normally do: in school.

Unlike past city protests, such as those against Propositions 187 and 227, the youth presence at the school district rally consisted of the very young and only a smattering of school-age students, many of whom came because their parents were there.

Mike Paque, a ninth-grader at South Gate High School, held a printed sign with the message: “Respect Our Community, Rescind the Illegal Action,” referring to the school board’s decision to appoint Howard Miller chief executive of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

At South Gate High School, the bathrooms do not have doors and they are “all tagged up” with graffiti, he said. There aren’t enough books. “We need a better school,” Mike said.

There was a second motivating factor that drew Paque to the rally--his mom wanted him to be there.

Nearby, Francisco, a seventh-grader, sat on a bench by himself, his mother lost somewhere in the crowd. Francisco alternated between listening to speeches, holding up his protest sign, and being absorbed in his own world, humming and, it seemed, daydreaming.

His handmade protest sign, gold poster board with black handwriting, declared: “I HATE MILLER.”

“Miller doesn’t know nothing about education of the kids,” he said. “My mom told me. . . . If they put Miller in, I’m not going to school--I hate Miller. If they put Zacarias in, I’m going.”

His friends at school feel the same way, he said.

“They think Miller is not even supposed to be supported,” he said. “He doesn’t have experience and Zacarias does.”

Mariela, 9, held a handmade pro-Zacarias sign, written on the back of an old “No on 227” protest sign. Mariela alternated between showing the Zacarias side and the “No on 227” side.

Steve Matta, 11, and Cindy Matta, his 8-year-old sister, attended the rally as well, but only because they attend year-round schools and were both on vacation, said the children’s mother, Hilda Lopez.

Lopez, who supports Zacarias and wants a Latino to lead the district, said she would not take her children out of school in protest.

After Friday, she said, there may no longer be a need for protests because the board might begin to listen to parents.

In the meantime, her children, who stood nearby munching on Pop Tarts, were learning a useful lesson, she said. “They’re going to know how to defend themselves and not be manipulated,” Lopez said.