AP
October 27, 2015
Hundreds
of students, parents and other Sioux City residents protested Donald
Trump's appearance at a northwestern Iowa high school on Tuesday, saying
the Republican presidential
candidate's rhetoric about immigrants violates the school's
anti-bullying policy.
The
billionaire businessman's harsh statements on immigration and his
characterization of Mexicans who enter the country illegally as rapists
and criminals in his June
announcement speech should have led school officials to bar him from
speaking at West High School, protest organizer Ismael Valadez of
neighboring South Sioux City, Nebraska, said.
"Latino
students are being harassed and bullied in the wake of Mr. Trump's
inflammatory comments," Valadez said. "He makes people at his events
think that saying the kinds
of things he does to other people is OK. It's not OK."
Valadez,
students and others began a petition effort, gathering about 1,400
signatures, in an attempt to get officials to rescind Trump's invitation
to use the school.
Sioux
City Schools officials refused, responding that the event is not
school-sponsored and that many other presidential candidates have used
the school for campaign events
over the years.
"We
realize that members of our community may choose to exercise their
constitutional rights by gathering in response to Mr. Trump's visit,"
Superintendent Paul Gausman
said in a written statement to several local news organizations. "This
situation presents an opportunity for us to model for our students and
community how to properly demonstrate the rights of free speech and the
freedom of assembly, and the democratic process."
Valadez said as many as 500 protesters gathered outside the school ahead of Trump's appearance Tuesday evening.
One
of them was Takkia Frazier, a 15-year-old Native American student at
the high school. She said Trump's appearance and the protests have split
the school and led some
students to chant Trump's name when in the presence of Latino students.
"I've never seen the school divided like this," Frazier said.
About 2,100 Trump supporters gathered inside West High School's gym Tuesday evening to hear Trump speak.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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