Allison's Proposal Disarmed

In November, the Albuquerque Public Schools School Board voted 5-2 to not arm APS Police during school hours. APS security officers will be able to carry guns when students are not on campus. The vote came on the heels of a long campaign by young people to keep guns out of our schools.

Before the School Board meeting to vote on Superintendent Brad Allison's proposal to arm APS security officers, many young people and organizations opposed to the proposal rallied outside the building where the vote was to take place.

SWOP, Young Women United and the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice were some of the organizations on hand for the rally.

"I'll feel safer without guns on the campus," says Yesenia Garcia, a SWOP member who worked on the campaign. "Maybe Superintendent Allison will now get back to working on our education."

"It was a long, hard process to work with APS on this one," adds Fernando Abeyta, SWOP's Youth Organizer. "We were met with hostility whenever we tried to deal with the administration. The School Board did a great job listening to people in a process that didn't allow for too much community input."

"We view this as a major victory for young people who many times are left out of decisions regarding their education," says Almarosa Silva-Banuelos, SWOP's newest intern. "I think we set precedence in a time when the rights of people are in serious jeopardy."

During the rally before the vote, participants performed a piece of street theater depicting students accidentally shot by one of the officers. The powerful piece ended with the young people outlined in chalk.

"The [school] Board was influenced by the rally outside," says SWOP Co-Director Jeanne Gauna. "We hope to continue to work with the Board on many issues we are concerned with in our school system."