SOQUEL, Calif. - Central Coast students are speaking out and coming together to say they won't accept racism at their school. This week, Soquel High School suspended students over white t-shirts and claims of white supremacy. On Thursday, tensions at the school ran high over it all.
"They have done some stuff in the past that has made people uncomfortable," says Senior Tommy Knight. "There's been swastikas on desks."
Wright said he saw students claiming white power at Soquel High School. He doesn't think it's a laughing matter. That's why he along with 150 students protested Thursday for peace on this campus. The school didn't allow media in, so the students took it outside.
"They aren't totally racist but they are taking things too far," says Knight. "They don't understand their actions."
That's Soquel High Senior Daniel Schwartz. He's offended by what he claims other students did in the past few months.
"I was in the bathroom the other door," says Schwartz. "You see 'eswp' carved in. That means east side white power. I've seen swastikas in my e-con class, there's swastikas on tables."
Tensions at the school rose after the school suspended some students for wearing white t-shirts in their senior class photo. Superintendent Gary Bloom defends the school's actions.
"It's an issue of a couple of students who have acted in a way that was against our rules," says Bloom. "It was inappropriate and intimidating."
Central Coast News spoke with some of the students who got suspended in a story Wednesday night. They claim they did nothing wrong and are not white supremacists. These students think otherwise and are hoping to find peace.
"It's peaceful for the most part, a really accepting community," says Knight. "They are a minority."
Some of the students said they think everyone should have been punished, including David Mine. He said the school reduced his punishment to a two-day suspension, after his lawyer and him met with the principal.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
