CONTACT: GLORIA ALLRED
(323) 653-6530
200 Children to Engage in Protest at Middle School.
Students Threatened with Arrest Plan to Stage Protest at Middle School and then March to Nearby Park to Meet Civil Rights Attorney Gloria Allred and hold News Conference.
Students from Dwyer Middle School plan to protest the placement of solar panels on their middle school lawn because it will block the view of the historic building and restrict space on the lawn that is used for running during PE class, play during lunchtime and 8 th grade graduation.
The students will hold a protest at their school on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 1502 Palm Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 at 1:30pm on the front lawn of the school.
The Police Chief of Huntington Beach has met with the children and many feel that the police have threatened the students with arrest if they hold the protest as planned.
The students have been working for more than a month planning the protest.
They plan to hold the protest at the school, but if the police arrive and give notice that they must disburse or be arrested, they plan to leave the school in protest, chanting and marching to Ms. Allred who will be waiting at the park to meet them and show her support of them. Ms. Allred and the students, including student protest leader Caroline Wiederkehr, will hold a news conference at Lake Park at 1035 11th St., Huntington Beach, CA 92648 at approximately 2:00pm to explain the reason for the protest, respond to what they believe was police intimidation of the children as they exercised their right of free speech and discuss their plans for future.