Protest of Principal

Fallout follows Edison High School brawl

By Nicole Alibayof

Edison Senior High School students are demanding that Vice Principal Javier Perez be fired and that police drop charges against the 19 students who were arrested after a peaceful demonstration erupted into a melee at the school last Friday — and they vow to continue protesting until they get what they want.

The students had demonstrated in response to a physical confrontation between Perez and 17-year-old Wadson Sagaille that had occurred a day earlier. Tensions reached a boiling point and exploded into a brawl, and more than 60 police vehicles showed up at the school, located at 6161 N.W. Fifth Court in Miami.

Students and parents blame Perez for sparking the incident, and say he has a confrontational personality.

“He has grabbed students before and I have seen it with my own eyes,” said Alain Vil, 18, president of the school’s Student Government Association.

At least one concerned parent, who had met with Perez about her 16-year-old son’s attendance, agreed.

“He was grossly disrespectful, condescending to me and was insensitive to my situation,” Mrs. Hall said. She was homeless at the time and said Perez wanted her child dismissed from the school, even though she brought all the necessary paperwork.

This Monday, students held the first of many peaceful rallies to come, which ended without incident.

Still, student leaders argue that the students shouldn’t be tainted with arrest records for an episode they say police exacerbated.

“I know these kids and I know they want to go to college,” Vil said. “With these charges on their file, they won’t make it to the college they applied to.”

Students described what they say were overaggressive methods used by police to quell Friday’s chaotic situation, which involved hundreds of students gathered outside their school shouting, “Get rid of Perez!” The shouting turned into fighting as officers tried to maintain control. They brought dogs, sticks, pepper spray and Tasers with them and chased students into the cafeteria, where the violence continued.

“They grabbed one kid as he was walking away, slammed him to the ground, put their knees in his back and started punching him,” Vil said.

Others were more emotional than eloquent.

“They need to stop this shit right now,” said Princess Jean, whose sister T.T. Jean was hurt during the conflict. “All that fuckin’ shit ain’t necessary.”

Their brother, John “Little D” Jean, started crying as he talked about what happened to his sister. He didn’t understand why the police had to use violence instead of just telling them to stop the protest.

Police defend their handling of the situation.

“We respect free speech, but this was nothing remotely close to a protest in a controlled manner,” Commander Charles Hurley said. “They began throwing water bottles, milk crates and books. We had to call for emergency backup.”

The faculty is encouraging students to come back to class and study to prepare for next week’s FCATs.

“I speak for these kids; they didn’t do anything wrong and I wanna help them get rid of Perez,” said Vil. “By the end of this week, everything should go back to normal.”