The third world comes to the US

Photo by John VanBeekhum/Miami Herald

Although there’s not much in the media about it, Miami Herald reports that Haitian students started brawling with police and school officials in Miami yesterday;

The disturbance followed a sit-in demonstration during the school’s first lunch period, at about 11:30 a.m., schools spokesman Quintin Taylor said. Students said the sit-in was intended to be peaceful.

The students were protesting a confrontation Thursday between Assistant Principal Javier Perez and a student who had been arrested at the school. District officials did not name the student, but classmates identified him as senior Wadson Sagaille, 17.

Miami-Dade Schools Detective Ed Torrens said administrators had told Edison’s school resource police officer a walkout was rumored for about 9:15 a.m. Friday. The walkout didn’t happen, he said.

Three or four officers attended lunch to monitor and answer questions about Thursday’s arrest, Torrens said. Students began throwing chairs at officers and spitting at them, he said, and some chairs hit other students. ”Then those students wanted to fight back, and it went south fast,” Torrens said.

The fights spilled into the courtyard. Officers began radioing for ”315s” — code for officers needing assistance.

Of course, it’s not the students’ fault, they claim;

Junior Sabrina Francois, 16, said the violence began when police showed up: Police “hit a pregnant girl with a stick. Even if they were just standing by, they hit so many girls.”

Senior Jenson Dolce, 18, said students were throwing milk and yogurt at the officers. The police ”pushed me into a fire extinguisher trying to contain the crowd,” said Dolce, who needed stitches for a cut to the hand.

Although students alleged Tasers were used, Miami-Dade Schools spokesman John Schuster said schools police don’t carry stun guns and Miami-Dade Police Union President John Rivera and Miami Police spokesman Delrish Moss said they did not believe their officers used Tasers.

And they shouldn’t be punished;

Dozens of angry students, parents and activists packed the area outside Edison’s main entrance. Students who saw the ruckus and activists from the Power U Center for Social Change and the Miami Workers Center shouted out demands of police and school officials.

”We want them to drop all charges against students and release all that were arrested,” senior Chris Ford Green told television crews.

From CBS4;

A student named Julia said police officers appeared to be upset about students documenting the fight.

“And then when the students were there standing by trying to take pictures, of what was happening, you know what happened? You know what the police did? They started taking them and throwing them to the floor, because they didn’t want us as students to voice our opinions, like we’re nothing, like we’re nobody,” she said.

Um, Julia, you are nothing. You’re a student and your sole job is to learn – your opinions don’t matter outside of your family. You have no right to free speech – you get free schooling, free clothes, free food, but no free speech, sorry. In a few years you’ll get all of the perks and responsibilities of being an adult, but right now, just sit down, shut up and learn something.

There’s a YouTube video that, for some reason, won’t embed.

Category: Society