Their mission was to figure out the most effective ways for recreating the mass protest they participated in last Monday in front of City Hall.
They talked about how to dress, what to carry, what not to change or avoid and what to say at the annual Springfest celebration tomorrow afternoon.
Springfest is a public fundraising program that features vending booths. Open to the public, it runs from 1:30 to 4:30.
Recalling the First Rally
About a hundred and sixty Culver High students joined Hamilton High, Venice High and Culver Park on Monday in marching on City Hall.
Posting themselves near the corner of Culver Boulevard and Duquesne, the gathering of an estimated three hundred and fifty students convened for several hours.
They gave speeches, and they waved flags from Mexico and other Latin lands. Joining hundreds of other high schools from Los Angeles and elsewhere in hoping to send a message to Congress, the students were expressing their opposition to prospective legislation that supposedly would strengthen laws regarding illegal immigrants and those who shield them.
The outcome of these bills is far from clear.
Culver City High students, meanwhile, are determined to make public statements loudly, frequently and, they hope, effectively.
At Wednesday’s assembly, the second in two days, they voted on several changes from Monday’s rally.
They decided on a color scheme of green and white — green ribbons and white tee-shirts — for specific reasons.
Other colors were considered, but the four leaders, sitting on the edge of the vast Frost stage, their legs dangling over the side, suggested white as the color of peace and green because it symbolizes hope.
Demonstrating they can learn lessons, the activists acknowledged they were stung by criticism from the first rally that the almost exclusive presence of flags from Latin countries — and no American flags — was offensive to many whom they hope to influence.
They voted to display only United States flags at Springfest.
Postscript
In concert with other public schools around Los Angeles, Pam Magee, principal of Culver High, indicated that no disciplinary action will be taken against students who demonstrated off campus on Monday or Tuesday.
She said the absentee rate on Monday was three times as high as it would be on a normal Monday.
“At this point,” Ms. Magee said, “I have not encountered fallout (regarding potential discipline) from any teachers.”
