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Thousands of Santa Maria students skip class to protest Trump

February 17, 2017

More than 7,000 students were missing from Santa Maria elementary schools on Thursday while walkouts, strikes and business closures took place nationwide as part of the “Day Without Immigrants” — a protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. In San Luis Obispo County, three downtown SLO restaurants shut their doors and students demonstrated at Paso Robles High School.

Santa Maria-Bonita School District administrators marked 7,302 students absent from 20 elementary schools. As a result, the district will lose nearly $400,000 in state funding. [KSBY]

In the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, 22 percent of students were absent on Thursday. The district includes Santa Maria, Pioneer Valley, Righetti and Delta high schools. The high school district expects to lose about $100,000.

Jennifer Lopez, a Santa Maria High School junior, said, “We all come from undocumented families, and we are not going to school.”

In Guadalupe, 38 percent of students were absent from Mary Buren Elementary School, and 23 percent of students were absent from Kermit McKenzie Junior High.

Numerous businesses in the Santa Maria area closed on Thursday.

Three downtown San Luis Obispo restaurants — Big Sky Cafe, Novo and Luna Red — kept their doors shut. Big Sky Cafe announced Wednesday it would be participating in the day without immigrants. On Thursday, the owners of Novo and Luna Red released a statement saying their restaurants would be closed as well.

“We are a nation of immigrants. Restaurants are an industry of immigrants. Farm fresh food is not possible without the hard work of our farm labor workforce; locally sourced cuisine is not possible without the hands to craft it. In solidarity with a “day without immigrants” we have closed our businesses, @luna_red and @novorestaurant because they would not be possible without the declaration of the people who first grow the food and our teams who prepare it,” the statement said.

At Paso Robles High School, dozens of students protested during their lunch break. Video shows students chanting, “bridges not walls.”


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In twenty years, our ever growing population of “immigrants” will be able to vote to return California to Mexico.


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Meanwhile, mean scores for testing in Santa Maria, soared for one day….


The testing scores for Santa Maria are abysmal, no doubt about it. Extremely poor. For the people that can scarcely afford to miss a day of school, it is a day they will never get back. Oh well, I guess they can always jusr have a bunch of babies and live off of welfare, or pick srrawberries.


I don’t get it. My wife is an immigrant, my mother also, neither one ever considered just walking in and squatting. My wife had to sign a contract that said ahe would not use social services entitlements. Maybe it is a different era, an era where you take all you can. Stamp your feet. Riot. Civil disobedience. Because…..AMERICA!!!!


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SM students and parents won’t see it this school year, but come the 2017-2018 school year there will be fewer workers to make up for the $500K deficit. There will be lay-offs and custodians, teacher’s aides, groundskeepers, librarians, cafeteria staff, etc will absorb the hit. Good show progressives, you fired working people.


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This Protest was an utter failure. I got my gas, food,all of the other things I needed in life. Hopefully these students won’t get this funding back and will end up losing out on Testing day and will have their grades held up for a few months,Maybe then they will feel the pain that Taxpayers feel to give them a FREE EDUCATION.


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Totally agree with the posts by anti “Day Without Immigrants” contributors. However, to ensure it is read and understood by those to whom it pertains, it needs to be translated into Español. Otherwise, it’s just another rant from those of us who are fed up beyond our ears!


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Los administradores del Distrito Escolar Santa María-Bonita marcan 7.302 estudiantes ausente de 20 escuelas de primaria. Como resultado, el distrito va a perder casi $400.000 en fondos estatales.


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All of you WHINERS check history three other president including Eisenhower had the fortitude to deport millions of illegals.


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Should be “A day without ILLEGAL immigrants”…. which even Cesar Chavez fought for. But for these kids, his name just means another day off school. History lessons just get in the way.


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In other news, school functioned better than it has in years and local businesses near the affected schools reported a 100% drop in shoplifting and vandalism.


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let’s call it like it is, ‘illegal immigrants’. I’d rather have seen a year without them instead of a day, would have been money ahead in the long run when you factor in all the other perks they drain off the system.


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