Students Organized for Anti-Racism (SOAR) held Teach-Ins during third and fourth periods March 26 and 27. Teach-Ins are organized to educate the student body on current political topics in the United States and their rights when interacting with Immigration and Customs (ICE) officers or local law enforcement.
Junior and SOAR member Aurora Pascual said students were looking for an education on current events and wanted to learn more about their rights but weren’t finding that education in the curriculum. They said SOAR put on this event to provide that education themselves.
“There’s been a lot of students asking to learn about topics of law enforcement encounters and the current political status of our country, and the school hasn’t been providing that education. The Teach-Ins are students providing an education to other students on what they have been looking for in classrooms,” Pascual said.
Sophomore Sage Murray said they attended the Teach-Ins to be a part of a larger-scale change and protest against political injustices they’ve seen recently. They said they wanted to learn more about their rights and felt like these topics have been quieted by Park.
“I wanted to learn more about my rights under the Trump administration and also be a part of a protest against the problems and injustices in our country right now,” Murray said. “As a part of the LGBTQ+ community and seeing how the administration has tried to silence these topics, I wanted to be a part of a bigger change in our school and community.”
According to sophomore Sam Ramirez, she was personally connected to the topics talked about at these Teach-Ins, which inclined her to attend. She said staying educated regarding law enforcement and immigration is an important topic for her and other students to learn about, and she felt frustrated that the administration restricted Park students from attending.
“I decided to attend this event because my dad is an immigrant. Advocating and staying informed regarding the immigration problems in our country is always a top priority for me and my family,” Ramirez said. “Immigration is such an important topic, and it’s extremely important to be educated on your rights when dealing with law enforcement, especially in this period of time. I was not happy that the school wouldn’t teach this to us in class and that it was made difficult to attend these Teach-Ins. Students should be able to learn to protect themselves, and not be marked Unexcused Absence for learning things they need to know to keep them safe and educated.”
Pascual said Teach-Ins were difficult to organize when the Park administration pushed back. They said SOAR carried on with their plans and showed that they wouldn’t be silenced.
“There was a little pushback from the administration and people with more power in our school, they were trying to censor SOAR. That pushback made it more difficult for us to run this event, but we carried it out,” Pascual said. “The purpose of these Teach-Ins is to show that we won’t be censored. These events are put on to protest the censorship of the student body and the voices of SOAR members.”
According to Murray, Park is a community that works towards inclusion and diversity, but that goal was not achieved when the Teach-Ins were restricted. They said it felt like Park wasn’t meeting their own goals and mission.
“This is a school that aims to promote diversity and inclusion within the community and to go out of the way and have students teach this instead of teachers, and then to have pushback on providing that education feels counterproductive to what Park is trying to achieve. I feel like the school is devaluing our voices.” Murray said.
Ramirez said she learned more about how someone could respond in ICE encounters and how she can advocate for these topics of injustice when it comes to immigration.
“After attending, my understanding has improved on the ways that ICE has treated the immigrant community and how someone can respond in those encounters. I have learned more ways in which I can advocate for immigrants facing injustices,” Ramirez said.
According to Pascual, they hope students leave with a better understanding of these topics and walk away knowing the support they have behind them.
“I hope students walk away knowing their rights, knowing they are supported in our school, and knowing that this is a safe space with people who care about them and their human rights,” Pascual said.
