South L.A. Pupils Demand More College Prep Classes

About 150 students marched on Los Angeles Unified’s downtown headquarters Thursday to protest the dearth of college preparation classes at their South Los Angeles campuses, and they secured a pledge from Supt. Roy Romer to investigate.

Organizers of the loud but peaceful protest advanced to the front doors of the school district’s main office late in the afternoon, chanting: “Romer, Romer, come on down. Talk to us, don’t be a clown.”

A few minutes later, Romer emerged from his office. The students encircled him in an impromptu meeting.

“We’re angry because we all want to go to college, but there aren’t enough college prep courses for us,” Rochelle Hernandez, a junior at Crenshaw High, told the superintendent.

Romer acknowledged the problem.

“You’re right on,” he told Hernandez. “We don’t have enough AP classes in the district. Secondly, they’re not distributed fairly across the district. Thirdly, they’re not distributed fairly across the tracks” at year-round schools.

The students presented Romer with a list of demands. They wanted to know the number of college prep and Advanced Placement courses at each district high school and the percentage of students at each campus eligible for admission to the University of California and California State University systems.

Romer agreed to provide a report by Feb. 1.

“I really like the fact that you’re here,” Romer told the students. “For you to come and say you want more access to AP courses is a great thing. Hey, give yourselves a hand.”

The students cheered and waved signs.

“We appreciate your comments, but we won’t be satisfied until our needs are met,” Hernandez shot back.

Thursday’s protest included students from seven South Los Angeles high schools, including Fremont, Dorsey and Manual Arts. It was organized by a group called South Central Youth Empowered Through Action.

The march was the second demonstration at district headquarters by South Los Angeles students in little more than a year. In September 1999, students from Fremont High came to demand more teachers and counselors. Then-Supt. Ruben Zacarias met them and promised change. But little came of it, they said.

“Zacarias didn’t last much longer than that rally,” said organizer Marqueece Dawson.

On Thursday, the students were well organized. They passed out press kits with a list of their demands and they carried neatly painted signs with messages such as: “College Prep For Everyone.”

They turned silent as Romer and school board member Caprice Young talked to them. Romer said he loved the exchange.

“This is one of the happiest occasions of my week, to be frank, to see you coming to my door,” he told the students.