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  • Az_ethnic_studies

    Debating Tucson School District’s Book Ban After Suspension of Mexican American Studies Program

    January 18, 2012 | Story

    Public school officials in Tucson, Arizona, have released a list of seven books that can no longer be used in classrooms following their suspension of the district’s acclaimed Mexican American Studies program. Last year, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal ruled the program violated a new state law, saying it "promote[s] resentment toward a race or class of people." "If all you’re teaching these students is one viewpoint, one dimension, we can readily see that it’s not an accurate history, it’s not an education at all. It’s not teaching these kids to think critically," Huppenthal says, "but instead it’s an indoctrination." We host a debate between Huppenthal and Richard Martinez, the attorney representing teachers and students trying to save the Mexican American Studies program. "What has occurred here is that [Huppenthal] has taken away from our entire community a curriculum that was adopted by our school board, that was developed by our school district, and that had successfully operated for well over 10 years," Martinez says. "It’s just part of the same kind of tactics that have been employed in Arizona reflected by [SB] 1070, the anti-immigrant perspective. It is the anti-Latino perspective that exists in this state." [includes rush transcript]

  • Students2

    Tucson Orders Closure of Mexican-American School Program as Ethnic Studies Faces Nationwide Threat

    December 29, 2011 | Story

    An Arizona administrator has ruled that the public school district in Tucson must end its acclaimed Mexican American Studies program for grades K-12, saying it violates a new state law that bans the teaching of any class designed for a particular ethnic group or that "promote[s] resentment toward a race or class of people." But the program’s supporters say the classes push the district’s largely Latino student body to excel academically while teaching them long-neglected perspectives. We speak to Tucson Mexican-American history teacher Lorenzo Lopez and his daughter, Korina, a high school sophomore. Both are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit to stop the ban from taking effect. We’re also joined by Dr. Rodolfo Acuña, author of "Occupied America: A History of Chicanos," considered the definitive introduction to Chicano history in the United States. Dr. Acuña warns copycat laws are likely to follow in other states as part of a growing campaign against ethnic studies programs, in particular Chicano studies, throughout the country. [includes rush transcript]

  • Ows_occupy_ports_west_coast

    Occupy Protesters Shut Down Major West Coast Ports, Targeting Goldman Sachs

    December 13, 2011 | Story

    The Occupy Wall Street movement moved from the streets to the docks on Monday with a series of actions along the West Coast, including San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Portland, Tacoma, Longview, Seattle, Bellingham, Anchorage and Vancouver. Many actions led to confrontations with police, resulting in scores of arrests, and in some cases, the use of pepper spray and flash grenades on demonstrators. Several ports were forced to temporarily cease operations, with terminals in Portland and Seattle completely shut down. In Oakland, an evening march to the port was led by Scott Olsen, the Marine Corps veteran struck in the head in October allegedly by a police projectile. For more, we are joined by Jorge Gonzalez of Iraq Veterans Against the War. "I see the struggle that’s going on with the port workers and the truck drivers down in Seattle and across the West Coast," Gonzalez says, who was pepper-sprayed on Monday while taking part in the Seattle protest. "They deal with the same issues, like mental health, homelessness. Veterans, they see themselves connected with all these issues." We also speak with Anthony Leviege, a dockworker at the Oakland port and member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. [includes rush transcript]

  • Student_burning_cuny_march

    Occupy Student Debt: Students Urged to Refuse to Pay Off Loans as Schools Hike Tuition

    November 29, 2011 | Story

    Monday was a day of action for university students on both coasts angered by the rising cost of tuition and the crackdowns on their recent protests. In California, students temporarily shut down a meeting of the University of California Board of Regents to protest a series of tuition hikes and the violent response to protests at UC Berkeley and UC Davis. Wary of a massive demonstration, the regents met by conference call from four different campuses but were still forced to switch venues after being confronted by chanting students at three of the four sites. In New York City, about a thousand students marched outside a meeting where City University of New York trustees voted to authorize annual tuition increases through 2015. The protests were the latest in a long-running battle against tuition hikes and education cuts that originated on UC campuses two years ago and quickly spread across the country. We speak with two guests who helped launch the Occupy Student Debt Campaign "Pledge of Refusal," which asks student signatories to refuse their student loan debt until a number of education reforms are implemented, including free public education. Pamela Brown is a Ph.D. student in sociology at The New School, and Andrew Ross is a professor of social and cultural analysis at New York University. [includes rush transcript]

  • Uc-davis_pepper-spray

    UC Davis Student Describes Pepper Spray Attack on Occupy Campus Protesters

    November 21, 2011 | Story

    A video that spread rapidly online shows University of California, Davis, campus police officers pepper-spraying student protesters at close range on Friday at point-blank range as they sat together to protest the dismantling of the "Occupy UC Davis" encampment. The two officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave, and the incident has sparked calls for the resignation of UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, who initially defended the actions of the campus police. Katehi has since said she wants an outside, independent panel to review what happened. We speak with Elli Pearson, one of the students pepper-sprayed on Friday. "All I could see was people telling me to cover my head, protect myself, and put my head down. And the next thing I know, I was pepper-sprayed," says Pearson, who notes she was protesting in solidarity with students at UC Berkeley who were beaten by police and against tuition hikes at universities across the country. We also talk to Nathan Brown, assistant professor of English at UC Davis, who wrote an open letter calling for the resignation of Chancellor Katehi following the pepper-spraying incident Friday. "In my opinion, the best way to go about these things as a junior faculty member is to speak up openly," says Brown, who is not tenured. "In that way, you draw a lot of support. And that, I think, will be very helpful in protecting me and protecting other people who speak out, if there’s any effort of retribution by the administration." [includes rush transcript]

  • Ows-new-school

    New York City Students Join OWS Day of Action with Union Square Rally, March

    November 18, 2011 | Story

    Among the many Occupy protests throughout New York City yesterday was a rally that attracted more than a thousand students to Union Square, a public park with a long history of political demonstrations. During a march out of the park, hundreds of people thronged into the street and attempted to occupy a New School building. We speak with a New York University student participating in the march and a New School professor who has incorporated the Occupy movement into his curriculum as "a prism through which to view a lot of broader social issues this semester." We also talk to The Nation correspondent John Nichols, who says, "I don’t think that a year ago anybody would have predicted that on a cold, rainy day in November 2011 you would have thousands and thousands of young people out on the streets in New York City and in cities across the country. Something has changed." [includes rush transcript]

  • Full Video: 39 Arrested with Occupy Cal in Forceful Crackdown on Student Protest at UC Berkeley

    November 11, 2011 | Blog Post

    See the full version of the video report featured on today’s Democracy Now! about the Occupy movement that drew thousands of California college students to protests at UC Berkeley, among others. [includes rush transcript]

  • Berkeley_web

    Occupy Cal: 39 Arrested in Forceful Crackdown on Massive Protest at UC Berkeley

    November 11, 2011 | Story

    This week, the Occupy movement drew thousands of California college students to protests on at least 10 campuses, including UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Berkeley, where police forcibly removed students and arrested 39 people. We get a report from John Hamilton, who reports for KPFA. [includes rush transcript]

  • Mlk_web

    Amidst Soaring Poverty, New MLK Monument Should Be Seen as "Testament to [His] Unfinished Work"

    October 19, 2011 | Story

    A new report by the University of New Hampshire reveals that nearly 22 percent of America’s children live in poverty. Another study by the the Pew Hispanic Center found that Hispanics now make up the largest group of children living in poverty: 6.1 million Hispanic children are poor, compared with five million non-Hispanic white children and 4.4 million black children. The Pew Center said Hispanic poverty numbers have dramatically increased because of the impact of the recession on the growing number of Latinos. On the heels of this week’s unveiling of the new memorial to Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the National Mall, we speak with Lewis Diuguid of the Kansas City Star who has written extensively on civil rights issues and the impoverished conditions of African Americans. Dr. King would "look at America as being an unfinished work, as it has always been from the start, but particularly when it comes to people of color and when it comes to people who are poor," said Diuguid. "We have a problem in the country when you see 46 million people are living in poverty, when you see 50 million people have no health insurance... The monument should stand as a testament to the unfinished work." [includes rush transcript]

  • American_teacher_web

    "American Teacher": New Film Rebuts Vilification of Underpaid, Dedicated Public School Teachers

    September 30, 2011 | Story

    Opening today, the new documentary "American Teacher" follows the lives of four teachers who struggle to remain in a profession they love, despite the heavy toll exacted on their lives by the grueling hours and low salaries. The documentary is a rebuttal of sorts to pundits who portray public school educators as cushioned recipients of taxpayer-supported benefits, extended summer vacations and low accountability. We speak with the film’s Academy Award-winning director, Vanessa Roth, and with Brooklyn first grade public school teacher, Jamie Fidler, who is featured in the film. [includes rush transcript]