Priorities: Leftists Protest Police Presence In Bronx Schools

Community Organizer Dinu Ahmed has an item at the Huffington Post regarding protests against in-school arrests. A large number of left-leaning groups claim to be supportive of that effort. At the same time comes an item linked down below.

Bronx, NY — On March 8, 2012, the New Settlement Parent Action Committee gathered 100 parents, students, educators, and elected officials on the steps of the Bronx Borough President’s office to express their outrage over the Bronx’s shocking rates of school-based arrests and student summonses, and to demand positive disciplinary alternatives.

The Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York is a coalition of students, parents, educators, civil rights, students’ rights and community organizations, including: Advocates for Children of New York, Center for Community Alternatives, Children’s Defense Fund-New York, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Future of Tomorrow, Make the Road New York, Mass Transit Street Theater, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Pumphouse Projects, Sistas and Brothas United, Teachers Unite, The Sikh Coalition, Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Youth on the Move, and Youth Represent.

While this report via a blog dealing with Bronx news can’t be verified elsewhere, it does seem to match up and comes with an alarming image. One would assume there are at least some educated adults spanning these many groups. Perhaps in the future, one might invest the time in spell-checking the children’s signs and instructing them on the proper spelling of “school,” as opposed to complaining about an apparently-and sadly-needed police presence, so that children wanting an education can attend with some sense of personal safety.

BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 20- Dozens of students, teachers and their supporters gathered in front of the Bronx County Courthouse on March 9 to demand an end to what they call the “occupation” of the New York City school system by armed members of the NYPD.

Groups participating included the New Settlement Houses Action Committee, Dignity in Schools Campaign, Sisters and Brothers United, Youth Ministries For Peace and Justice, Youth on The Move, Bronx Legal Services and Mass Transit Street Theater.

Lynn Sullivan, the director of special projects at Mass Transit Street Theater, told the crowd, “I’m here today to offer proof there is another way to have safe schools and to treat young people with the respect they deserve.”

Sullivan, who is also a mediation counselor, pointed to a recently published book by The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Annenberg Foundation, that details the participation of five New York City High School’s in the “Dignity in School’s Campaign.”