Not Everything Is Possible
Although Culver High has had a remarkably proficient computerized system of monitoring student absences in place since last October, knowing where students spend a truant day still is outside of the parameters of technology. That is a way of saying that for all of their precision work in measuring students, school officials are forced to speculate about specificity on Monday, May 1, the day of the protest marches. “I don’t think all 154 of the students who were truant went to a march,” Mr. Sotelo said. “My guess is that many either may have participated in a march or they decided to take advantage of the circumstances, the confusion.” He also allowed for the possibility that “a few parents may have felt their children were safer at home that day.”
For a comparison, on April 24, the Monday before the May 1 upheaval, eighty-nine students were absent, roughly seventy percent fewer than on Protest Day. On Monday, April 17, the number of absentees was smaller still.
Finally, there were indeed parents who admitted to Culver High that they decided, on their own, in defiance of a powerful letter of warning to all families from Principal Pam Magee, to allow their children to attend one or both of the marches held that day in Los Angeles. (Ms. Magee’s letter, “Warning to Parents, Students,” was published in the May 2 edition of thefrontpageonline.come. It can be found in the May Archive.)
Something Familiar About This Note
Thefrontpageonline.com obtained a copy of an apparently mass- produced Excused Absence note that Mr. Sotelo suspected was distributed at the march sites. Numerous Culver High students showed up with the identical note, primitively, sloppily and erroneously constructed. The one-paragraph note, a grammatical nightmare, appears to have been composed by a person who not only may not have graduated from any school, he may not have completed many grades.
Spanish and English versions of the haughtily worded note were brought to the Attendance Desk by students judged to be truant.
In the 109-word note that is reproduced here in its entirety, notice that the parent never indicated whether his child was a boy or girl:
“May 2, 2006
“To: (Principal’s Name), Principal
“Culver City High School
“I gave my son/daughter permission to exercise his/her constitutional right to protest. Therefore, he/she did not attend school on May 1, 2006, The U.S. Constitution and the California Education Code (Sec.48907) and Board Policies permit students to exercise their rights. As a parent I will not tolerate any sort of punishment for my childs participation in protected activity. Any type of punishment will be considered retaliatory against my childs civil rights and subject to legal action. If you have any questions or concerns please put them in writing and mail to my address of record.
“Sincerely,
“(Parent’s Signature)”
