The sentence leapt off the page at Lincoln Southeast senior Frida Aguilera, the words like a personal attack on students who walk the school’s hallways.
“But if you’re an illegal immigrant, get your citizenship or get out.â€
The quote came from a piece in the latest issue of the Clarion, the school newspaper-turned-quarterly magazine, about President Trump’s first year in office. It included opinions from officers of the school’s two political clubs — the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans — about several issues during the president’s first year.
One of those was the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that the Trump administration wants to end. In the Clarion, one of the student leaders said those who have citizenship should have the same rights as anyone else — followed by the sentence that sent Aguilera to the principal’s office to complain.
People are also reading…
“I got the Clarion right away and read it and thought ‘This is insane,’†said Aguilera. “That’s targeting a minority population at Southeast and making them feel unwanted and suppressed even more. Where’s the line for hate speech and not hate speech? How close do we have to get to get to it?"
The sentence felt particularly unfair, students said, because just months before, members of the school's Latino Club had asked the administration if they could display posters supportive of DACA recipients — known as Dreamers — at Southeast.
They’d imagined the poster as a picture of students’ eyes over the words “I support Dreamers" and "I support DACA," or "We are Dreamers," said senior Nikolai Jaramillo-Ramirez. The point was to let Dreamers know they were welcome at school when Trump first began talking about ending the DACA program.
Southeast Principal Brent Toalson supported the idea, but Lincoln Public Schools officials nixed it, saying the posters violated policies regarding hotly debated political topics, Jaramillo-Ramirez said.
District policy prohibits schools — including teachers — from taking political sides on hotly debated topics. Displaying posters on such topics might lead to a misinterpretation that the school or district authorizes one side of a political debate, said John Neal, assistant to the superintendent.
But in today’s divisive political landscape, finding a balance that supports students but doesn’t take a political side — especially with issues such as DACA that directly affect students and their families — is tough.
“It’s a very unique situation because ... when they think DACA they think about their identity, not a political issue,†Neal said.
Toalson said he struggles with that balance, encouraging students to come to him and working to find ways to have the nuanced conversations needed to make sure students feel supported and have a voice.
“When you’re talking about a group of students that have civil liberty rights, how do we navigate those issues so they feel supported, welcome in our building but also recognize that there are people in our community and here at Southeast who have different opinions about how to solve that issue politically?†he said.
Earlier in the fall, after district administrators said no to the posters, Aguilera and Jaramillo-Ramirez touched base with a school board member who, though supportive, agreed the posters would violate school policy.
They let it go, until they saw the quote in the Clarion.
That led to a meeting including Toalson, Aguilera, Jaramillo-Ramirez and Clarion staff, then a visit by Neal to the Latino Club last week.
Students told Neal they felt as if their voices were being silenced, that politics have become a tool for discrimination, and that they couldn’t understand the decision not to let them display the posters.
Aguilera made it clear from the start of the meeting just how important the debate is to her and other students.
“There is a DACA community here. It’s superimportant to me. There’s a community here that not a lot of people know about,†she said. “I can assure you the kids quoted here (in the Clarion) never talked to a DACA recipient.â€
That was the point of the posters, she said, to educate, not politicize.
Olivia McCown, co-editor of the Clarion, attended the meeting to explain the story — and to encourage the students in the Latino Club to use the student newspaper to be heard.
“We are a platform to have all student voices amplified,†she said. “If you ever feel your voices aren’t being heard, contact us and we will make sure your voices are heard.â€
Clarion staff have invited members of the Latino Club to write a letter to the editor on the topic, which Jaramillo-Ramirez said they plan to do.
The story with the offending quote was part of a two-page spread in the latest publication. It included a one-page article about how to have civil discourse — and be a better listener in today’s divisive atmosphere, an explanation of some of the major issues, and the student opinions on both sides of the issues.
In an earlier edition, the Clarion ran another two-page spread about DACA, interviewing students supportive of Dreamers and a Dreamer who doesn’t attend Southeast.
McCown said Clarion staff discussed the offending quote and in the end decided to run it because it represented a student’s viewpoint.
McCown pointed out to her classmates last week that publishing that comment started a conversation and prompted the Latino Club members to speak up.
“I’m so proud of you guys for standing up and saying something,†she said.
The club sponsor, Spanish teacher Antonio Almazan, said there’s underlying discrimination at work. For years, he said, he's heard comments in the hallway about how he should go back to his country.
“Now the same groups are given the political platform to say the same thing,†he said.
Aguilera said DACA recipients already feel targeted by the president, and they don’t want to feel that way at school.
Toalson said keeping a positive school culture — especially in the midst of changing demographics — is challenging.
In the last decade, the percentage of ethnic and racial minorities at Southeast has more than doubled and the percentage of students eligible for the federal free- and reduced-lunch program has steadily increased to 36 percent.
This semester, he's started a number of student focus groups to discuss various issues that have arisen.
Aguilera said Toalson has been very supportive and students will continue to work with him to find a way to support Dreamers. Toalson said he hopes to meet with students again to brainstorm ideas.Â
“I support raising awareness. I’m trying to figure out how we get there,†he said.
It's important he knows how his students feel, he said, and he's glad they've come to him.
“It’s been informative for us, empowering for some of our students. It tells me we still have lots of work to do in that area.â€