Members of the newly formed student diversity committee at Novato High School react to one of the speakers at a meeting last night to discuss an article in the school newspaper critical of illegal immigrants.
Photo: Jeff Vendsel
Posted on 05/02/2002 10:27:30 PM PDT by churchillbuff
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:40:14 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
A public interest law firm today filed suit against the Novato Unified School District alleging that it violated the free speech rights of a Novato High School senior who wrote a controversial opinion piece published in the school newspaper last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The student author of an inflammatory article published in the Novato High Buzz told the Novato school board last night that he wrote the piece because he was "sick of hearing about how illegal immigrants would come here from all over the world."
"I am not a racist," said Andrew Smith, a Novato High senior. "I'm a journalism student. I wanted to get a reaction out of people and I've done that."
Smith's article, published in the Novato High School Buzz Nov. 13, has generated districtwide debate and dialogue. A new campus group, "Everyone United -Todos Unidos" has been formed by several students to promote greater multicultural education and appreciation in the school.
Novato High Principal Lisa Schwartz told the board the sequence of events before and after the publication of the essay, which contained statements such as, "There should be no tolerance for anyone to be an illegal immigrant...I don't care if (you're) living in a country where oppression is everywhere or if you're starving or whatever the excuse."
Schwartz said she feared the article would be "distressing and offensive to members of our community" but she allowed it to run because it did not appear to be "obscene, libelous or slanderous." Had it been, she said, the state education code would have required her to halt publication of the piece.
The principal also told the standing-room-only crowd that she learned after the fact from the Novato Superintendent John Bernard that district policy allows students' rights of expression to be limited in order to "protect the rights, health, and safety of all members of the school community." She described her decision to publish the essay as a "misapplication of the board policy."
A number of parents, students and community leaders also weighed in on the incident, including three Marin Human Rights Commissioners. One, Lenny Karpman, said Schwartz was right to publish the article because human rights should not be placed above the First Amendment right to free speech.
Placido Salazar, also a Human Rights Commissioner, said the essay showed a "lack of education" and urged the school and school board to turn the incident into an "educational opportunity."
A third commissioner, Geroge Pegelow, said he disagreed with the ideas expressed in the article but defended Smith's right to say it.
Kerry Pierson, also a commissioner, blamed a local radio talk show host for escalating the controversy.
Marna Martinez, a student at Novato High School said, "How could someone be so cruel and so ignorant to write such a hateful article?"
Dale Smith, Andrew's father, defended his son's actions and criticized both Schwartz and Superintendent John Bernard for their handling of the incident. "I love my son very much and I'm very proud of him," Smith said. He also said his son has been "harassed, yelled at and threatened."
"I think this is an issue of reverse discrimination," said Kathleen Westenberg of Novato. Westenberg said she believes that if Smith had been Latino, he would have been treated with greater respect by school officials.
Students, parents and school administrators gathered at Novato High School last night to air frustrations over an article in the school newspaper they said was unfair to illegal immigrants.
The opinion piece, written by senior Andrew Smith, ran on the opinion page in the November issue of the Novato High School Buzz distributed Tuesday.
"I was offended by the article," senior Terry Landin said. "Everyone was angry toward it. It shows so much prejudice toward immigrants."
"This is ignorant," said parent Margarita Guerrero. "This is hate speech."
The article, aimed at illegal immigrants, particularly Hispanics, prompted students to walk out of their classrooms in protest on Wednesday and question how the piece landed in the student paper to begin with.
Dale Smith, Andrew's father, defended his son's stance on illegal immigrants but questioned the tone and charged statements employed by his son in the article, saying "he didn't think it through."
The article was approved for publication by the paper's student editor, a teacher adviser and Principal Lisa Schwartz, who said she anticipated students might get upset and requested a counter article on the issue.
Schwartz was brought to tears last night before a crowd of about 100 people when she took full responsibility for publishing the article, but said she let it run because she was concerned about interfering with the free speech of students.
"My understanding of what I could prevent from being published was obscenity, slander and libel," Schwartz said. "What I learned after the distribution of the paper was if students write what could be inflammatory or result in the disruption of a school day, then I would have authority to prevent publication."
Schwartz said students walking out of class was that disruption.
Andrew Smith wrote that America provides opportunities to many outside its borders and in return asks that those seeking citizenship meet "reasonable requirements," including speaking English.
"I'll even bet that if I took a stroll through the Canal district in San Rafael that I would find a lot of people that would answer a question of mine with "Que?'" he wrote. "The only reason why they can't speak English is because they are illegal."
"We are immigrants who come for better lives," junior Erica Nuno said. "English was my second language and I worked extra hard for it."
Smith wrote that immigrants who can't legally work in this country make money illegally. "This might include drug dealing, robbery or even welfare," he wrote. He then called for Immigration and Naturalization Services to reform immigration policy "before our country rots from within."
Many parents were outraged.
"We are not lazy. We are not on welfare," Guerrero said. "We work two jobs, work our butts off and pay taxes."
Amid the heated discussion Smith's father rose and said, referring to Andrew, who was not at last night's meeting:
"I agree with his stance on concerns regarding illegal immigration in this country. I disagree with the way he was insensitive in his approach and with the inflammatory things he said and the article's taunting tone."
After the meeting, Smith said his son was wrong to stereotype people.
"He needs to get his facts straight before he blurts things out," Smith said in an interview.
Superintendent John Bernard and Schwartz met with about 150 parents and students the day of the walkout to answer questions and to listen to their concerns.
Novato Unified School District spokeswoman Dianne Pavia said, "They wanted to be immediate in having a venue to air their feelings and to discuss steps being taken to repair this."
Administrators sent a letter home apologizing for the article and said it violated district policy regarding student publications, which states: "Students' rights of expression shall be limited only as allowed by law in order to maintain an orderly school environment and to protect the rights, health and safety of all members of the school community." The letter said the article also violates the district's Human Relations and Respect Mission Statement, designed to create a safe and respectful learning atmosphere where people are treated with dignity.
"These views by the student are his personal views and beliefs and we respect his right to have his views but they do not represent what Novato High is about," Pavia said.
The school held a faculty meeting to prepare teachers and staff to talk with students. The district policy and mission statement were reviewed in all classes and the family forum was held last night.
"The article was negative but it did something positive, it brought us together," Nuno said, referring to a group started by students to unify the campus community and promote tolerance.
The committee called "Todos Unidos - Everyone United" will help students teach each other about all cultures.
Student-made posters have appeared at the school stating, "Everyone Welcome" and "One Race - Human Race."
Students have submitted written statements in response to the article that will appear in a special edition of the school paper, along with a piece by Schwartz.
Members of the newly formed student diversity committee at Novato High School react to one of the speakers at a meeting last night to discuss an article in the school newspaper critical of illegal immigrants.
Photo: Jeff Vendsel
Following a three-year tenure clearly marked by innovation and slightly marred by controversy, Novato High School Principal Lisa Schwartz has resigned her position and will return to her old job at the Marin County Office of Education, the district has announced.
Stating that she is leaving for "personal and professional reasons," Schwartz indicated that it was not a decision that she has made, or should be taken, lightly. "This was a very difficult choice to make," Schwartz said. "There are so many wonderful people in this school community. The bottom line is that I had to make a decision about where to spend the rest of my career." Novato Unified School District Superintendant John Bernard said that students, staff and parents at Novato High School will be sad to see her go. "I understand Lisa's reasons for leaving, and I respect those reasons," said Bernard.
"She will be missed," he said.
Schwartz's resignation came on the heels of an announcement by the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter, that two Novato High School seniors, Ruth Osorio and Stella Robertson, had been named as recipients of a James Madison Freedom of Information Award for their role in fighting what was perceived by some as an attempt by school administrators to stall publication of their student newspaper, The Buzz.
Schwartz said her decision to leave had nothing to do with the controversy. "I can absolutely and unequivocably say that my decision to leave was not based on anything to do with the school newspaper," she said. At issue was the publication of an opinion piece last November titled "Immigration," written by Novato High School senior Andrew Smith, seen by many readers as a racial slur. While Schwartz urged journalism students to run a counter article on the issue, she had nevertheless allowed it to run.
Following an angry walkout by Hispanic students, a letter signed by Schwartz and Bernard went out to parents expressing regret over the decision to publish the article, stating that the decision violated the school board's policy "to maintain an orderly school environment and to protect the rights, health and safety of all members of the school community." The next issue of The Buzz didn't come out until mid-February, after what frustrated journalism students claimed was a series of delays due to "grammatical items" and what students felt was pressure from school officials, according to Buzz Editor-in-Chief Andrew Johnson. Smith's byline was conspicuously absent. "They told me not to write," Smith said.
In his November opinion piece, Smith wrote that the U.S. should take a zero tolerance approach to illegal immigrants and that the INS should treat "these people" the way the police would treat any suspected criminal. "It can't be hard to find and detain the people that can't speak English," Smith wrote. "If a person looks suspicious then just stop them and ask a few questions, and if they answer 'Que?,' detain them and see if they are legal. It seems so easy," the article said.
Dale Smith, father of Andrew, is a tireless supporter of what he referred to as his son's right to "protected speech." While he originally voiced his support for the principal, he is now convinced that Schwartz and Bernard bowed under pressure, and that Schwartz was forced from her job.
Nothing could be further from the truth, Schwartz says. "What happened at our school newspaper was part of the business of doing school business.
That was part of the job," she said.
"I appreciate Mr. Smith's concerns and interest in support of me and the school," she said, "but I don't see it the way he sees it." Mary Jane Burke, Marin County superintendent of schools, also disagrees. Burke, who has worked with Schwartz for 20 years, weighed in to sing her colleague's praises. "Lisa is not a person to shy away from issues," said Burke. "That's what I admire most about her and that is one of the things the district admires about her. If I had had my way she would have returned to the county office a year earlier," she said.
"I know for certain that the Novato district wanted to keep Lisa," said Burke. "I can state unequivocably that there is absolutely no relationship between issues before the Novato district and her return to the county.
"She is a bridge builder," Burke said. Novato High School drama teacher Beverley Cooke-Tonnesen wholeheartedly agreed. "Cowardly she is not," the popular teacher said. "Bowing to external pressure is not a part of her makeup," she said. Schwartz was originally on loan from the county Office of Education while serving as Novato High's interim principal for the 1999-2000 school year. The following year, she took a two-year leave from her county job in order to continue her work at Novato High. With the two-year period coming to an end, Schwartz has elected to take the option of returning to her old post at the county office to coordinate programs for the wider range of students that it serves, she said.
Among her proudest achievements over the past three years was the expansion of a English Language Learners program, designed for children new to the U.S. who are either limited- or non-English speakers.
Schwartz also cited advanced placement courses, a School of the Arts planning grant, a Digital High School Grant which led to the funding of a new computer lab, increased music resources, the return of a drama department to the curriculum, and dramatic improvements in the appearance of the campus.
"In the last three years," she said, "we went from being the only high school in the county that did not have a Gay-Straight Alliance to having the largest Gay-Straight Alliance in the county." Schwartz said that her heart's desire would be to take the lessons she has learned in Novato and integrate them into the services provided by the county office. "Before I came to Novato High," she said, "I was working with the high-risk student population in places like juvenile hall. Since I've been here in Novato, I've learned a lot about the complexity - and, frankly, the richness - of programs offered to 'regular' students," she said. "That's what I'll be taking back to the county," Schwartz said.
Oh, a "Human Rights Commissioner". What a vaunted title...
"Kerry Pierson, also a commissioner, blamed a local radio talk show host for escalating the controversy."
BLahahah! Michael Savage!
"Marna Martinez, a student at Novato High School said, "How could someone be so cruel and so ignorant to write such a hateful article?""
When someone states something that's true and accurate, but not popular of p.c., it becomes "cruel,hateful" and "hate-speech". This student was saying that the coddling of illegal immigration by vote-greedy politicians is destroying our country and fostering a contempt for the law of the nation. It also says to people who came to the U.S. the proper and legal way "SUCKER!"
"Dale Smith, Andrew's father, defended his son's actions and criticized both Schwartz and Superintendent John Bernard for their handling of the incident. "I love my son very much and I'm very proud of him," Smith said. He also said his son has been "harassed, yelled at and threatened.""
Both Smith and his father came onto Michael Savage's talk show The Savage Nation and said that Andrew had been phsyically threatened by latino youths that saw his picture in a local liberal rag.
One thing is for sure -- much worse articles than this would have been welcomed into that newspaper if they had been defending illegal immigrants. Now you have to be PC to criminals?
And those who aren't PC to criminals are going to have to take re-education classes.
And, I really, really dislike the term "illegal immigrants". The word "immigrants" implies that they're here, to stay, part of a process. How about "foreign trespassers" or "invaders"?
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