Protest

Gary Moskowitz Clark Magnet High School Assistant Principal Joan Shoff spent Wednesday morning performing a balancing act. As a few hundred 10th- and 11th-graders began taking the High School Exit Exam, another hundred or so juniors and seniors walked out of class and into the school's outdoor amphitheater to protest the possible war in Iraq. "It's been a busy morning," Shoff said. "But they handled themselves respectfully. Students left class for about 20 minutes and returned quietly when I asked them to, without disrupting those taking the exam."

DOWNTOWN — Dozens gathered at a Brand Boulevard street corner Friday to protest President Obama’s plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system, waiving American flags and signs denouncing “Obamacare.” “I call it the Obama death plan,” said Debi Devens, organizer of the protest for the group, called Glendale Patriots. “It’s a plan that’s going to take the free choice away from the American people.” Devens and others at the demonstration on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Wilson Avenue insisted that the president’s proposals, which are currently being discussed in Congress, would force Americans to give up their own health care plans, despite Obama’s frequent insistence to the contrary.

Are you as weary of protests and demonstrations as I am? Are you tired of hearing how unfair life is — especially here in the states? Are you empathetic when watching your TV full of people marching and carrying flags, flags from other countries, as well as the American Flag, carrying placards, banners, and posters depicting how local government, the federal government or the president mistreats them? Are you convinced that grade-school students have any real conception about why they are marching, except that they know they are ditching school and their parents encourage it?

Alecia Foster Armed with picket signs, a handful of high school and college students descended on Taco Bell Wednesday afternoon to protest the poor conditions of farmers. The protest was in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who pick tomatoes for a company that sells the produce to the fast food chain. The students said the farm workers are mainly immigrants who are paid low wages, given no health benefits or overtime pay. Laurie Gannon, a spokeswoman for Taco Bell, said it was the company's policy to "not get involved in other company's labor disputes."

No one asked for my name when I called City Manager James Starbird's office to protest what I considered the use of the American flag for a non-American event or personage. Of course, being the widow of a World War II veteran and really appreciating what our young men and women have gone through with suffering etc. in the later wars, I just couldn't believe our flag was flying at half-staff for another country's inner troubles. I'm glad to hear other Glendalians were as angered as I was. Thanks to all who called our city officials in protest.

Josh Kleinbaum As the Town Center pieces begin to fall into place, one company seems to hold the immediate future of the project in its hands. General Growth Properties, owners of the Glendale Galleria, could delay the project more than six months if it protests zoning changes needed for the Town Center plan. General Growth officials declined to say if they will file a protest at an April 20 City Council meeting. The proposed Town Center, a 15.5-acre commercial and residential project in downtown Glendale, will be next to the Galleria.

Flintridge Sacred Heart loses protest The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy softball team must replay its Mission League contest against Alemany, which filed a protest after the Tologs picked up a 4-3 win against the Warriors at the Glendale Sports Complex on April 2. Alemany filed the protest before the game, claiming that the pitching circle was three feet farther than the required 40 feet from home plate. Flintridge Sacred Heart Athletic Director Stephanie Contreras said that school principals throughout the league heard the protest Friday morning before ruling in Alemany?

This is a response to Nancy Kent's protest in the Galleria lot on Jan. 3. Nancy Kent, you are free to protest against your president and other high-level officials. There are thousands of Iraq-origin citizens in Glendale who resent your act, because each and every one of them had a relative either executed or disabled in two unnecessary wars, or assassinated by Saddam's thugs. The Iraqi people are one of the most oppressed people in the world.

It was a telling moment full of courage. Annie Orudzhyan stood silently as Ariel Lupton placed red tape on her mouth during a demonstration at Glendale High School on April 25. Students and teachers sat in a silent protest against harassment and discrimination. The protest was part of a national initiative known as the Day of Silence. During the protest, students don’t speak for a day to call attention to how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are “silenced” by harassment and bullying in schools.

All around the nation, there have been reported instances of health workers refusing to provide services and products to patients because providers feel the patients' care needs violate their beliefs. In Chicago, an ambulance driver reportedly refused to transport a patient for an abortion. In Texas, a pharmacist reportedly refused a morning-after pill to a rape victim. The clashes have led to lawsuits and political conflicts over religious freedom and patients' rights.