I was furious yesterday. The Arlington police gave the little lawbreakers and class skippers a police escort and closed the roads for them. The impromptu closing of public steets was a huge inconvenience to me and plenty of others who actually had to get somewhere in the course of our legal lives.

"They" should respect "our" rights.

"These protests are all pre-arranged and in support of those immigrants that are being used as pawns for someone else's gain."

Amen!

Just another example of our tax dollars at work.

Advocates will say that this is teaching the little darlings about democracy.

Yeah, right, sure it is.

Today, I heard the following quote on WTOP from one of the truants: "Without Spanish people, this country would be nothing."

My answer to the child is: Go back to your country and see if we survive.

http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=16412685&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=511694&rfi=6

A teenager was stabbed during the protests near Edison HS and according to this local newspaper article it was the result of an ongoing dispute between what are supposed to be students at Edison.

Everyone in this site is talking about how their great gradparents came to this country as immigrants and comparing themselves to the hispanics when there is one big difference: they do Not have first hand experience with what the hispanics go through. Yes we do have our home flags because we are proud of where we came from and we dont turn our backs to them. And if people werent ignorant enough they would have checked their facts carefully to find the US flag also proudly shown by many hispanic americans in the protest. We have come to this country because this is a country of opportunities and if you are going to talk about your great grandparents working you should also think about the hispanics who work day and night just so their kids could get a better education. Im not saying that your grandparents didnt have a hard time because I know they did but all immigrants suffer not just the ones that came years ago. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus (inscribed on the Statue of Liberty) Do you guys not even remember how it was back when the first settlers came? Do you guys give no meaning to what is inscribed on the statue of liberty? This country is melting pot and if we turn our backs on immigrants we will be turning our backs on ourselves.

I am reminded of my high school and its draconian rules. They were rules that I still believe were correct and good preparation for the real world, even though they were tough to live with at the time. We had a whole manual that we received at an assembly on the first day of school.

At my school, three unexcused absences in any given school year meant a student would not advance to the next grade. A protest of this sort could go on the ledger as one unexcused absence (only illness, family emergency, and a couple other things like that were excusable). All work due during an unexcused absence and not passed in in advance and accepted by the teacher, and all exams or quizzes missed by the student during the absence, would result in a "0" or an "F" being recorded.

My school was saying: fine, go to a protest or go on a vacation or whatever if you want to, but live with the after effect of that choice.

Behavioral infractions were sometimes payable by detention, which did not really matter; but suspension was considered unexcused absence and, as such, was to be avoided. E.g., Smoke a cigarette and get caught and you just bought one day of unexcused absence. Smoke a joint and you just bought two days and a call to the police, followed by a call to your parents. It was clear that the police received a call first if any law was broken. (Guess how many kids smoked anything at all at my school? It just wasn't worth getting caught.)

Rules are good. Our rules left the choice, and the consequence of that choice, on the student. Just like things work in the real world. Fine preparation for adulthood.

That said, I do believe students have something to contribute to political discussion and that they should do that. There are many ways to make a point, though, and I am quite sure that most of them do not involve skipping school or walking out of classes.