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Title: Oceanside High erupts in protest as smaller rally begins in Vista
Source:
North County Times
URL Source: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/200 ... s/top_stories/3_1906125114.prt
Published: Mar 30, 2006
Author: North County Times
Post Date: 2006-03-30 00:18:56 by Zipporah
Keywords: None
Views: 233
Comments: 21
A mob scene unfolded at Oceanside High School on Mission Avenue this morning when about 400 students tried to leave campus, only to be blocked by police officers toting pepper-spray pellet guns and wearing riot gear. Tensions arose at the school just before noon, when several hundred students tried to leave campus in protest of proposed immigration policies.
Oceanside High School students try to force their way through the school`s west gate onto Horne Street as Oceanside police in riot gear who fired paint ball guns at the ground to force the crowd to back away.
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Oceanside High erupts in protest as smaller rally begins in Vista
The scene at the campus subsided as school let out this afternoon and protesting students headed for the Oceanside Bandshell at the beach. Three boys have arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly throwing chunks of concrete at officers during the incident at the school.
Officers shot pepper-spray-filled pellets at the ground as students shook a locked fence surrounding the school. The students were chanting, "One people united will never be divided."
After about an hour of tense standoffs, about 100 students were allowed to walk to the Oceanside Pier in protest while others were locked down in classrooms.
As school let out around 2 p.m., officials released students from the campus in small groups. Many appeared to be headed to the Bandshell at the beach.
Mission Avenue west of I-5 and Center Street near the campus were blocked by police.
Another protest appeared to be brewing in Vista, where about 100 Latino students from Lincoln and Washington middle schools were congregating at 1:30 p.m. in a shopping center across from Vista High School to mark the third day of protests in the city.
The students ---- some carrying posters and Mexican flags ---- said that when Vista High released its students for the day around 2 p.m., they hoped to convince some of the teen-agers to march with them to Vista City Hall.
Students in Vista organized similar --- though much larger --- marches on Monday and Tuesday to protest proposed federal legislation that could toughen penalties for illegal immigrants.
Earlier, in Oceanside, a school official on a bullhorn told students they should step away from the school's gate if they did not want to be pepper-sprayed.
Students calling the newspaper from inside the gates said they were trying to leave in protest.
"Our point is that we want to show how we feel. If they're going to put our parents in jail because they are illegal, we are going to protest."
Officers considered locking down City Hall but as of 1:50 p.m. decided not to do so. The students will not be allowed in city hall, police Sgt. Leonard Mata said.
Mata said when students start leaving the campus this afternoon police will monitor them to be sure they're safe.
He said police requested help from the Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol, and they had provided 20 deputies and officers.
Oceanside police had heard in advance that a large group of students might leave Oceanside High School at 11:45 a.m., so a command post was set up at 7 a.m. at the school, Mata said.
"We thought we were going to have an issue at the high school, so we prepared," he said.
A group of students from Jefferson Middle School has also joined the protesters, according to students calling from their cell phones.
"The police are escorting us all, and we're walking toward the pier," said 15-year-old Ivan Leal from his phone. "They're trying to keep us from getting away and they're trying to keep things from getting violent."
Elsewhere in North County, protests were more mild.
Escondido and Carlsbad authorities said there had been no protest activity so far today in the city.
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#1. To: Zipporah (#0)
I guess the one question I would ask these "kids" is: Are you an American or a Mexican? It would be interesting to hear the responses.
#2. To: mehitable (#1)
I think we already know the answer to that one.. their loyalities lie not with the US..
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Replies to Comment # 1. I guess the one question I would ask these "kids" is: Are you an American or a Mexican? It would be interesting to hear the responses.
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