Mascot tug-o-war reaches board

Mary A. Castillo

Twelve high school students were joined by Laguna Beach High

School alumni and parents at the board meeting to protest a surprise

second vote on the name change at the high school.

Students were given a ballot and a Scantron Tuesday morning. They

were allowed to select Breakers, Artists or to abstain.

Breakers won with 442 votes, Artists received 334, 78 students

abstained or were absent.

“We were in second period and our counselor came in and didn’t

give us an explanation why we were taken out of class,” said Katelyn

Massey, 16. “We truly believed we were being drug tested.”

In a statement she delivered before the packed audience and the

school board, Katelyn expressed her concern that the election was an

attempt to quickly resolve the name change issue. But she charged

that the election itself defied student rights to be advised and

given a chance to debate the issue before it went to ballot.

Her voice trembled when she told of the jeering and taunting she

and other students were subjected to when they spoke up about the

election. She asked the school board to intervene based on the

Associated Student Body Constitution Article II, section 8 that gives

the school administration power to veto any decision made by the ASB.

“So any decision by students that stands has approval and

agreement of the school administration, which answers to the

superintendent and the school board,” she said. “So the buck really

stops here with this board.”

She sat down to a round of applause.

“When was the last time adults were confronted with a surprise

election in a captive environment,” asked Walker Reed, former

president of the alumni association.

He claimed that the election process was flawed because it had not

allowed for students to fully explore the issues.

“I would’ve voted for Artists if someone actually gave me a

ballot,” said Lincoln Burger, a senior athlete who pointed out the

flaws of the second vote.

Members of the board listened intently and praised the students

for coming forward with their concerns about the process. But they

stressed that they could not take action on the issue.

“I would like a copy of the constitution and bylaws,” School Board

Member Robert Whalen said. “Obviously people are very concerned about

the process.”

However, he responded to thinly veiled accusations that the

Student Council operated in collusion with school administrators to

force an underhanded election on students.

“I don’t attribute those motives to [Nancy Blade],” he said. “The

process may have been imperfect but it was not from ill motive.”

David Bean, student representative to the school board took his

turn to speak on behalf of the Associated Student Body.

“We haven’t been forcing decisions on students,” he said. “We’re

not a small group that makes decisions without consulting students.

We haven’t made a decision if we favor the Breakers or the Artists.”

Natalie Hills, 15, asked him if the Student Council had considered

a compromise she submitted to the council, Supt. Theresa Daem and

Principal Blade. She proposed that the sports teams be allowed to

call themselves Breakers and that the entire student body be known as

the Artists.

“ASB is swamped with things like homecoming,” he said.

He revealed that ASB had plans in the works to establish a way for

alumni and members of the community to weigh in with their opinions

and suggestions on general school events.

After the public comment session of the meeting ended, the

majority of the audience left the board room to talk outside.

“Right now I’m not proud to be part of this,” Katelyn said. “But

I’m going to run for ASB as a way to make a difference in this

school.”

* MARY A. CASTILLO is a news assistant for the Coastline Pilot.

She covers education, public safety and City Hall.