'White power' rattles school Spanish class

'White power!' cited as part of heated discussion

John C. Ensslin And Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, August 31, 2007

BROOMFIELD - Angelina Sierra-Sandoval loves going to Holy Family High School, just like her mom did 17 years ago.

But the sophomore was stunned this week when her Spanish II class turned into a heated discussion about Mexican immigrants, with at least one classmate blurting out, "White Power!" two or three times.

The discussion grew so heated that Sierra-Sandoval and another Hispanic student asked to be excused from the class.

"I was shocked at first that this was going on because it was a very loud discussion," she said Thursday.

Officials at the Catholic school in Broomfield confirmed that one student and the teacher were disciplined.

The incident came at the outset of class Tuesday, when one student complained about having to learn Spanish. Sierra-Sandoval said the teacher responded that it could be a useful job skill to be bilingual.

Sierra-Sandoval said one student joked that maybe they should move to Canada since Mexicans were taking over the United States.

That's when another student yelled, "Go White Power!" the girl said.

Two or three other students chimed in, repeating the phrase, according to Sierra-Sandoval, but school officials said only one student out of a class of about 30 made the remark.

Sierra-Sandoval raised her hand and asked for permission to leave. She said the teacher didn't say yes or no but instead tried unsuccessfully to tone down the discussion.

About 20 minutes later, according to Sierra-Sandoval, another student asked for permission to leave.

Both students ended up staying through the class.

At first, Sierra-Sandoval and her mother were reluctant to discuss the incident - and did so only after a spokeswoman for the Denver Archdiocese released a statement.

Maria Sierra-Mendoza, Angelina's mother, said she is confident school officials will do the right thing and use the incident as an opportunity to teach tolerance and respect. She plans to meet today with the school's principal.

"I'm confident that the school is going to deal with it appropriately and possibly turn it into something educational and not to downplay it," said Sierra-Mendoza.

"I don't think these kids realized the seriousness of what went on in the discussion."

Holy Family Principal Sister Mary Rose Lieb said she would treat the situation as "a teaching moment - an opportunity to reaffirm that respect . . . should be the foundation of every dialog and encounter with another."

Jeanette DeMelo, a spokeswoman for the Denver Archdiocese, did not specify the discipline but said the teacher will remain at the school.

"The principal concluded it was an inappropriate and overly emotional discussion, but it was not a situation of harassment," DeMelo said.

"The students who offended apologized to those who were offended," she added.

ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291