Ocean View students protest

Ocean View High School students were among hundreds if not thousands of youths from campuses throughout Southern California who walked out of classes this week to protest a controversial immigration reform bill.

About 40 students left the campus at Warner Avenue and Gothard Street after their first-period classes Monday and Tuesday. They carried signs and Mexican and American flags as they walked around the block, yelling and flashing peace signs at passing motorists, many of whom honked in response.

The students were protesting House Bill 4437, which would have a 700-mile fence built along the U.S.-Mexico border and would increase penalties for businesses for hiring illegal or undocumented workers. It would also make it a felony rather than a misdemeanor to enter the country illegally.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday approved a bill that includes a guest-worker program ? a provision the House rejected. It would allow undocumented workers to stay in the country temporarily if they pay fines and back taxes, provide their work history and agree to take English-language courses. The committee has sent the bill to the full Senate and the president for a vote.

The police department did not hear of any other incidences of student protests in Huntington Beach, said Lt. Dave Bunetta.

The Ocean View protest remained safe and peaceful, School Officer Dwayne Eatmon said.

“We’re just here making sure they’re safe,” he said during Monday’s protest. “They’re doing great.”

None of the students would give their names.

The students will not face any charges or repercussions for walking out of class from police because truancy is not a crime, Bunetta said. The students will face disciplinary actions from the school. They will receive detentions or be required to attend Saturday school, depending on how much school they missed, said James Reed, assistant principal of supervision.

“The protest itself was very peaceful and we had no issues or concerns,” Bunetta said.

Although Reed was happy that it seemed students were going to stay at their desks Wednesday, he said he hopes teachers will take a moment to reflect on the week’s events and use it as a teaching tool.

“It’s a wonderful teaching moment that hopefully the teachers can take and use,” Reed said. “[They can ask] Why? What happened? What about immigrants? American used to be called the melting pot of the world and it still is.”

It is not expected that the students will stage another protest during school hours this week, Reed said.

Thousands of students around Southern California have been protesting the bill since Friday. On Friday, California will celebrate Cesar Chavez Day recognizing Chavez for his work as a labor leader, fighting for better work conditions for farm laborers in the 1960s and 1970s.