Youths chain themselves to chairs
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The TUSD Governing Board was forced to cancel its meeting Tuesday night after ethnic studies supporters stormed the meeting room and chained themselves to chairs.
The board was scheduled to consider a proposal that some Mexican American Studies courses would no longer be used to fulfill core-curriculum requirements.
The protest was organized by a youth coalition called UNIDOS. The group demanded the proposal, written by board President Mark Stegeman, be withdrawn.
Superintendent John Pedicone said the proposal will not be removed from the agenda and the meeting has been rescheduled for May 5. It will likely be held at one of the high schools to accommodate a larger crowd.
"I think there's a great deal of frustration and misunderstanding regarding what Dr. Stegeman is working to do," Pedicone said. "I'm concerned that this creates an impression that the district is harming these students.
"There's no attempt to hide Mexican-American history and this board needs to have the opportunity to explore this option in the open, but that can't be done in this kind of situation."
The students forced themselves into an already packed boardroom around 5:45 p.m. - 15 minutes before