4/17/2009

Library on the lawn

Photobucket

Today there was a protest on the Plaza of the Americas (surprise). Chispas--inhale--Coalition of Hispanics Integrating Spanish Speakers through Advocacy and Service--exhale--checked out 650 books from Library West.

Obviously, the librarians were a little confused. But they let them do it anyway after the club's president signed a few papers about keeping the books "undamaged."

Chispas then used the books to spell out "DREAM" on the plaza lawn.

The library's book preservation officer--there's an officer for everything, I guess--didn't like the idea of 650 books lying open in the grass/dirt and exposed to the sun for too long. He told the Library West chairwoman, who called herself "the rescuer of the books" when I spoke to her, and the two ended the protest immediately. They even helped Chispas put the books away.

The thing is the demonstration meant to show support for the DREAM Act, which would allow "undocumented" minors who came to the US before 16 to attend college. From the protest:

"As a society, we have a responsibility to provide all young people, regardless of immigration status, hope for the future and a chance at education."

It's a little funny they took 650 books out of the library and set them in the grass to make their point.

1 comment: