Friday's latino boycott by the students hit the school pretty severely. Over 1,000 students were absent at LHS, creating a loss of about $23,000.00, according to the report from the school administration.

The overall reason for this was to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the Governor's work in opposition to the license law for residents not legally in the state, or undocumented, if you prefer. In any event, all students in L.A., and especially latino students, have be in school as much as there is an opportunity to do so. The schools have so little money coming through that this loss makes the student the losers.

I find it difficult to see the wisdom of hurting one's self as a method to get a point across. The students' actual level of commitment and understanding of what was represented to them mattered little. As a general observation, the students were given a reason to miss school, some saying that it was a "Mexican holiday," and they were taking advantage of it. I think they were the ones where advantage was taken.

Using our students, who should be given every opportunity to obtain a free education, as a method to wield some clout was a very unfair, selfish and self-destructive act. I don't see how failing to pursue the opportunity to receive an education should be considered to be productive when fighting deficiencies in literacy alone is a reason for spending MORE time in school, not less.

The leaders, if you want to call them that, should not be praised by anyone. They hurt the students, did nothing to advance their education, cut a lot of funding that makes the schools run. They made it even more difficult to accomplish the task of educating our young people, a particular segment of the population which has long been faced with high drop-out rates at the local schools.

Using the students very simply as pawns in the game of politics, wanting to protest the driver's license issue, is just wrong. There was nothing in it for the students, nothing even relating to issues of education. Maybe THAT would be a questionably meritorious basis, but this wasn't even close.

Again, I find it very difficult to understand how hurting yourself can show anyone how smart you are.

Seasoned alumni may remember the blowouts from 1968 on the Eastside, but that was directly connected to the school situation. Even then, many were leaving campus as a matter of peer pressure as for dissatisfaction with conditions. That was the decade of social change and to a large extent, many too young to be a part of that period would like to see a reason now to have the same experiences of protesting for their cause.

Let's at least have it be worth the costs.

For those students still IN school, the LHS baseball program is coming together with tryouts coming up. The Lincoln soccer program is underway. The JV team played Roosevelt's twice-champion JV team on Thursday afternoon at LHS, but with Friday's activities, the winning side is still unknown.

Two more weeks of classes until the holiday break for 3 weeks and then back to classes. There is another reunion planned. This one is going to be next year, 2004, to bring together the Class of 1964. More on this later. Just saw a flyer today at LHS.

If anyone noticed the L.A. Times yesterday, Tuesday in the California section, there was a photo of one of the 4 shooting victims. The shooting happened after school at about 3:45 p.m at a restaurant just across the street from the front entrance to the school. So far there is not much information about the cause, the perpetrators or the exact way it happened. The shots were heard by many on campus at the time.

It doesn't appear that there is much that can be done to prevent the persons from doing such things to other people. Fortunately, none of these victims do not appear to be in a life threatening condition.

It seems that there is so much of these violent acts these days that the Times did not bother to write more than a caption, nor was much made in the television and radio news. Apprehension of the involved persons and punishment is about all that you can expect. If anyone has a plan or an idea for prevention of off-campus violence, let us know.

As for the school itself, there is the modernization work still in progress. The 500 building is done. The Administration (100) building is half done with a wing about to re-open and the other wing about to close for the workers to get at it. The Library balcony area is worked over to extend the area out into what was an exterior area.

More is happening, but this is the most notable change for now.