Pasco graduation disrupted by student yelling ‘should have started with English'
A Pasco High School graduate and his family will be meeting with administrators this week after he disrupted the school's commencement ceremony with comments that criticized the principal's use of Spanish.
As Bulldogs from the class of 2025 were handed their diplomas Saturday at Edgar Brown Memorial Stadium, one student reportedly spoke into a microphone, 'This is America. You should've started with English.'
His comments appeared to be in reference to Principal Veronica Machado's welcome speech, which was given first in Spanish and then in English.
The school and broader community have a large Spanish-speaking population. More than 80% of the school's population come from Hispanic and Latino backgrounds, and more than half of Pasco residents overall speak a language other than English at home.
The district appears to have edited out the student's comments from the livestream on Sunday, and on Monday took the video down to add edits to clarify students' names. The interruption was caught by audience members and has been shared thousands of times across social media.
'We are disappointed and saddened that a Pasco High School student chose to disrupt the graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 7, 2025, by making a personal statement that does not reflect the values of our school district,' Pasco School District administrators said in a statement.
'Before participating in graduation ceremonies, all students are required to sign an agreement to uphold standards of appropriate conduct. The student's decision to move into the personal space of the name readers and speak over their microphone was a clear departure from that agreement and selfishly took attention away from the achievements of all graduates being celebrated. The district will take steps to prevent disruption of speakers on stage at all future events,' the statement continued.
An administrator reportedly addressed the disruption on stage and after the ceremony. The district plans to hold a series of meetings and listening sessions this week with students, staff and families who were impacted.
While district and school admin plan to meet with the student and his family, it's unclear if he will face any discipline or repercussions.
School Board President Amanda Brown said in a statement on her personal social media account that it's important all students and families know they belong in their schools, that their languages and cultures are valued, and that Pasco continues to strive toward an inclusive environment.
'While every student is entitled to their voice and lived experience, I do not condone the manner or message in which this moment unfolded,' Brown said.
'I believe it is important to reaffirm that Pasco is a diverse and inclusive community, and our schools should reflect and celebrate that diversity. Language is a powerful expression of identity, and the use of Spanish during the ceremony was a meaningful way to honor our bilingual students, families and staff,' she continued.
The school district is home to the state's largest dual language program, educating more than 2,000 multi-lingual students with instruction in Spanish and Russian in addition to English. The district says this program promotes bilingualism, biliteracy, socio-economic competency and high academic achievement.
About 509 students graduated from Pasco High School over the weekend.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
40 minutes ago
Los Angeles' image is scuffed since ICE raids and protests
LOS ANGELES -- This isn't the image Los Angeles wanted projected around the globe. Clouds of tear gas wafting over a throng of protesters on a blocked freeway. Federal immigration agents in tactical garb raiding businesses in search of immigrants without legal status. A messy war of words between President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire and graffiti scrawled on a federal detention center building, while videos recorded the sounds of rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades hitting crowds. In a city still reeling from January's deadly wildfires — and with the World Cup soccer championships and the 2028 Olympics on the horizon — Mayor Karen Bass has been urging residents to come together to revitalize LA's image by sprucing up streets, planting trees and painting murals so LA shows its best face to nations near and far. 'It's about pride,' she's said. 'This is the city of dreams.' Instead, a less flattering side of Los Angeles has been broadcast to the world in recent days. Protests have mostly taken place in a small swath of downtown in the sprawling city of 4 million people. As Trump has activated nearly 5,000 troops to respond in the city, Bass has staunchly pushed back against his assertions that her city is overrun and in crisis. Bass, in response to Trump, said she was troubled by depictions that the city has been 'invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals, and that now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming our federal agents. I don't know if anybody has seen that happen, but I've not seen that happen.' The series of protests began Friday outside a federal detention center, where demonstrators demanded the release of more than 40 people arrested by federal immigration authorities. Immigration advocates say the people who were detained do not have criminal histories and are being denied their due process rights. Much like New York, Los Angeles is an international city that many immigrants call home. The city's official seal carries images referencing the region's time under Spanish and Mexican rule. Over 150 languages are spoken by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. About half of the city's residents are Latino and about one-third were born outside the U.S. Bass faulted the Trump administration for creating "a chaotic escalation' by mobilizing troops to quell protests. "This is the last thing that our city needs," Bass said. Los Angeles resident Adam Lerman, who has attended the protests, warned that protests would continue if the Trump administration pushes more raids in the city. 'We are talking about a new riot every day,' Lerman said. 'Everybody knows they are playing with fire." It's not the publicity LA needs as it looks to welcome the world for international sporting events on a grand scale. 'At this stage in the process, most host cities and countries would be putting the final touches on their mega-event red carpet, demonstrating to the world that they are ready to embrace visitors with open arms,' said Jules Boykoff, a Pacific University professor who has written widely on the political and economic impacts of the Olympic Games. The scenes of conflict are 'not exactly the best way to entice the world to plan their next tourist trip to the U.S. to watch a sports mega-event.' The federal raids and protests have created another dicey political moment for Bass, who has been struggling with a budget crisis while trying to recover from political fallout from the wildfires that ignited when she was out of the country. She's been careful not to discourage protests but at the same time has pleaded for residents to remain peaceful. The mayor will likely face backlash for involving the Los Angeles Police. And she needs to fight the perception that the city is unsafe and disorderly, an image fostered by Trump, who in social media posts has depicted Bass as incompetent and said the city has been 'invaded' by people who entered the U.S. illegally. Los Angeles is sprawling — roughly 470 square miles (750 square kilometers) — and the protests were mostly concentrated downtown. "The most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful," Bass said. 'I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the (Trump) administration.' On Monday, workers were clearing debris and broken glass from sidewalks and power-washing graffiti from buildings — among the structures vandalized was the one-time home of the Los Angeles Times across the street from City Hall. Downtown has yet to bounce back since long-running pandemic lockdowns, which reordered work life and left many office towers with high vacancy rates. Trump and California officials continued to spar online and off, faulting each other for the fallout. At the White House, Trump criticized California leaders by saying 'they were afraid of doing anything' and signaled he would support Newsom's arrest over his handling of the immigration protests. If Los Angeles' image was once defined by its balmy Mediterranean climate and the glamor of Hollywood, it's now known 'primarily for disaster,' said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney. 'A lot of perception depends on images," Pitney added. Right now, the dominant image "is a burning Waymo.'
2 hours ago
California labor leader charged with impeding officer during immigration crackdown
LOS ANGELES -- The arrest of a California labor leader has become a rallying cry for immigrant advocates across the country who called for his release and an end to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. David Huerta, the 58-year-old president of Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday while protesting outside a business where federal law enforcement agents were investigating suspected immigration violations, authorities said. He was released from federal custody Monday on a $50,000 bond after a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, union members and immigrant advocates led rallies in cities from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York to call for Huerta's release. In Boston, hundreds of people gathered in City Hall Plaza, with protesters shouting 'Free David, free them all.' Huerta, a long-time labor leader born and raised in Los Angeles County, has become the face of the pushback against Trump's effort to drive up immigration arrests. His case has also drawn attention to the longstanding ties between Democratic officials and the union that represents hundreds of thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers across California. After he was released, Huerta told reporters he did not intend to get arrested, and said the only way to win change is through nonviolence. 'This fight is ours, it's our community's, but it belongs to everyone,' Huerta said in Spanish. 'We all have to fight for them.' Protests broke out last week in Los Angeles in response to reports of immigration raids, and have escalated with thousands taking to the streets of the nation's second-largest city after Trump took the extraordinary move of deploying the National Guard. Over the weekend, demonstrators blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd. Huerta was arrested while law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a federal court filing. A crowd of people including Huerta gathered outside the business yelling at the officers. Huerta sat down in front of a vehicular gate and encouraged others to walk in circles to try to prevent law enforcement from going in or out, the agent wrote, adding it was clear 'he and the others had planned in advance of arrival to disrupt the operation.' A law enforcement officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then put his hands on Huerta to move him out of the way of a vehicle, the agent wrote. Huerta pushed back and the officer pushed Huerta to the ground and arrested him, according to the filing. 'Let me be clear: I don't care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted,' Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a post on the social platform X. 'No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties.' Messages left for Huerta's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, have not been returned. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and California's two Democratic senators wrote a letter to federal officials demanding answers regarding Huerta's arrest. California Sen. Adam Schiff attended Huerta's bond hearing. 'It is deeply troubling that a U.S. citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained by the federal government for exercising his rights to observe immigration enforcement,' the senators wrote. Huerta has worked for the SEIU for more than 25 years and was elected president of SEIU California, which has more than 750,000 members, in 2022. He was honored during the Obama administration for his efforts to build an immigrant integration program that included English classes for union members. Huerta was injured during Friday's arrest, the union said on its website. In a statement, the SEIU condemned the immigration raids and said its members will continue to demonstrate for workers' rights.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sunny Greece struggles with solar energy overload
In a field in central Greece that once grew clover and corn, maintenance worker Nikos Zigomitros deftly drives a tractor between rows of solar panels, trimming weeds under a blazing sun. "Letting them grow too high impairs the panel performance," the 52-year-old explains, wiping sweat from his brow. Once a centre of agricultural production, the area around Kastron Viotias, some 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Athens, has seen solar parks mushroom over the past 15 years, part of a major renewable energy push in the country. Greece currently has 16 gigawatts of renewable energy installed, with solar power representing nearly 10 gigawatts, including 2.5 gigawatts that came on line last year. The rapid growth of solar is similar to other countries in Europe, where it has overtaken coal for electricity production, according to climate think tank Ember. It estimates renewables have risen to account for nearly half of the EU's electricity production. Greece did even better: 55 percent of annual consumption was covered by renewables last year, with solar accounting for around 23 percent, according to SPEF, an association which unites local solar power producers. In 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis predicted that Greece would "soon generate 80 percent of its electricity needs through renewables." But getting there is proving complicated. SPEF chairman Stelios Loumakis said that the solar sector has hit a wall because of a combination of factors, including Greece's small size, limited infrastructure and delays in building up energy storage capacity. - Saturated - The Greek state approved too many photovoltaic projects over the last five years and the market is saturated, leading to a "severe production surplus" on sunny days, the 56-year-old chemical engineer and energy consultant said. Greece's national grid operator in May repeatedly ordered thousands of medium-sized operators to shut down during the sunniest hours of the day to avoid overburdening the network and triggering a blackout. "The trick is to balance supply and demand. If you don't do it well, you get a blackout," said Nikos Mantzaris, a senior policy analyst and partner at the independent civil organisation Green Tank. In April, a huge blackout of unknown origin crippled the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish government has said two major power fluctuations were recorded in the half-hour before the grid collapse, but the government insisted renewables were not to blame. "It could be something as mundane as a faulty cable," Mantzaris said. - Batteries 'crucial' - To manage the surplus, Greece is building battery storage capacity. But catching up to its solar electricity production will take years. "The next three years will be crucial," said Stelios Psomas, a policy advisor at HELAPCO, a trade association for Greek companies producing and installing solar panels. In the meantime, solar panel operators will have to ensure production does not outstrip capacity, thereby limiting their potential earnings. "Managing high shares of renewables -- especially solar -- requires significant flexibility and storage solutions," said Francesca Andreolli, a senior researcher at ECCO, a climate change think tank in Italy, which faces a similar problem. "Battery capacity has become a structural necessity for the electricity system, by absorbing excess renewable energy and releasing it when demand rises," she told AFP. - Farm income - Mimis Tsakanikas, a 51-year-old farmer in Kastron, readily admits that solar has been good to his family. The photovoltaic farm they built in 2012 at a cost of 210,000 euros clears at least 55,000 euros a year, far more than he could hope to earn by growing vegetables and watermelons. "This park sustains my home," he said. But the father of two also notes that the environmental balance has tipped in his area, with the spread of solar installations now causing concerns about the local microclimate. Tsakanikas says the area has already experienced temperature rises of up to 4.0 degrees Celsius (7.2 Fahrenheit), which he blames on the abundance of heat-absorbing solar panel parks in the area. "The microclimate has definitely changed, we haven't seen frost in two years," he told AFP. "(At this rate) in five years, we'll be cultivating bananas here, like in Crete," he said. jph-bur/rl/cw/phz
