More than 450 Lincoln Southeast High School students signed an open letter expressing disappointment in the decision of one of their distinguished alums -- U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer -- to support President Trump’s pick for education secretary.
Three Southeast seniors wrote the letter Thursday night and began asking their fellow students if they wanted to sign it Friday morning.
By 8 a.m. they had more than 100 signatures.
“I had to go to the library and print off more sheets,†said Lucy Collins, one of the three seniors who wrote the letter and circulated it.
They ended with 24 sheets -- more than 450 names -- and a good feeling about the desire of their fellow students to get involved.
“I think students aren’t given enough credit for how involved some of them really want to be in the community,†Collins said. “The idea all high school students aren’t interested yet, that’s really just not true.â€
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Fischer has been the subject of intense pressure from Nebraskans opposed to Trump nominee Betsy DeVos, an ardent supporter of charter schools and school vouchers.Â
After two Republican senators announced they would vote against DeVos’ confirmation, Fischer’s vote became the target of DeVos opponents.
Protesters gathered outside Fischer's Omaha office on Friday afternoon, and similar protests were planned Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Omaha, Kearney and Scottsbluff.
Public school advocates see hope in Fischer's background. After graduating from Southeast she earned a degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She served on the Valentine school board and was state president of the Nebraska Association of School Boards. Her mom was an elementary school teacher in Lincoln for more than 30 years.
But on Thursday Fischer announced that she planned to vote for DeVos’ confirmation, saying "I have received assurances from her in writing that the Department of Education will not impose new federal mandates related to vouchers on our schools." It was a point of discussion at Southeast.
“There are lots of students who are upset,†Collins said.
That night, she and two of her friends -- Grace Pugh and Samuel Stanley -- attended a party with a group of people who’d gotten together to talk about how to get involved in local and national issues.
Collins, who knew Fischer’s picture hung on the wall with other distinguished alumni, said the idea for the letter popped into her head at the party. Fellow party-goers encouraged her, and she, Pugh and Stanley, who play in a string quartet together and plan to pursue music careers after college, got to work.
The letter is short, telling Fischer why DeVos isn’t qualified, and what they hope she will do if DeVos is confirmed.
Collins said she doesn't like DeVos' support of charter schools but is most concerned about her lack of experience.
"We need people ... that know what they're doing and will do their job effectively," Collins said. "I don’t think she can. She didn't even attend public school."
Collins said she was impressed by her fellow students. Not everybody wanted to sign it, and a couple were upset they were collecting signatures. But every student read the letter before they signed it, some asked questions, though most knew of DeVos. Some who didn’t said they wanted to do more research and get back to her, then did. Others heard about the letter and texted Collins, asking if they could sign.
The letter was not part of a school project nor sanctioned by the school, Collins said.
She plans to email Fischer the letter and signatures, then she’ll mail the document to her office in Washington.
Collins said she’s been socially active all her life, and she's written her elected officials before. She's just never asked others to sign them.
“After doing this I really don’t think I’m going to stop,†she said. “Just seeing how excited it gets other people -- that makes me feel good. That gives me hope for my generation. I really want us to be involved and I think we will be, after this.â€