First Casualty of Student Walk Outs!....My Thoughts.
I haven’t found any news coverage on this incident other than this article. The title of the article is a bit misleading. A tragedy yes, yet far from a casualty of recent student protests. Commenting without knowing the details in full is a bit dangerous because it could come back and kick me in the face. However, if there is any truth to the intimidation of the vice principal of this school, I believe he took the “scared straight” tactic a bit too far. I mean if you are warning someone about a punishment, at least make sure there’s some truth behind it and not just empty threats. Surely there will be some sort of ivestigation to these allegations.
This incident also enforces my point of how unprepared, uneducated and unorganized these young dissidents are. How can parents or adult protest organizers encourage these students to protest, throw them out there in the streets without knowing facts and consequences of their actions. Louise Corales the mother of this student is now saying schools can’t punish students for vocalizing their beliefs and exercising their rights. Well that’s inaccurate Mrs. Corales and with all due respect had you been more informed of school policies in your district and state as far as being truant from school for one, having that information, perhaps that knowledge could have been passed on to your son before he took the steps that he did. Being a true dissident, one has to know all the facts, and most of all, the pros and cons of ones actions. When in doubt, ask. Actions have to be thought out, well organized, act from the mind and not merely from heartfelt emotions. That is a lesson that could be learned from this tragedy. My sincerest condolences to the family of Anthony Soltero.
First Casualty of Student Walk Outs!
by jesheekah Saturday, Apr. 08, 2006 at 12:26 PM
jesheekah@yahoo.com
Eighth grader Anthony Soltero shot himself through the head on Thursday, March 30, after the assistant principal at De Anza Middle School told him that he was going to prison for three years because of his involvement as an organizer of the April 28 school walk-outs to protest the anti-immigrant legislation in Washington. The vice principal also forbade Anthony from attending graduation activities and threatened to fine his mother for Anthonys truancy and participation in the student protests.
Louise Corales, whose 14 year-old son, Anthony Soltero, died on April 1 after committing suicide, will speak to the community and ask for a prayer for her son this Sunday, following the 11:00 a.m. mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ontario, California.
Eighth grader Anthony Soltero shot himself through the head on Thursday, March 30, after the assistant principal at De Anza Middle School told him that he was going to prison for three years because of his involvement as an organizer of the April 28 school walk-outs to protest the anti-immigrant legislation in Washington. The vice principal also forbade Anthony from attending graduation activities and threatened to fine his mother for Anthonys truancy and participation in the student protests.
Anthony was learning about the importance of civic duties and rights in his eighth grade class. Ironically, he died because the vice principal at his school threatened him for speaking out and exercising those rights, Ms. Corales said today. I want to speak out to other parents, whose children are attending the continuing protests this week. We have to let the schools know that they can’t punish our children for exercising their rights.
Anthonys death is likely the first fatality arising from the protests against the immigration legislation being considered in Washington, D.C. Anthony, who was a very good student at De Anza Middle School in the Ontario-Montclair School District, believed in justice and was passionate about the immigration issue. He is survived by his mother, Louise Corales, his father, a younger sister, and a baby brother.
Ms. Corales will speak to the community after mass on Sunday, April 9, 2006 at 12:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. She will ask for a prayer for Anthony, whose funeral and burial are scheduled for Monday, April 10 in Long Beach, where he was born.