Salem youth group calls for high school walkout to support Palestinians

Latinos Unidos Siempre is encouraging area high school students to walk out of school Wednesday in support of Palestinians.

LUS is asking students to walk or bus to the Oregon Capitol in Salem, where multiple organizations, including LUS, are holding an annual May Day/International Workers’ Day rally from noon to 5 p.m.

Streets near the Capitol will be impacted midday for that rally, which usually attracts hundreds of people.

Several streets will be closed or have lane restrictions from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Wednesday around the Oregon State Capitol Mall for an International Workers Day rally.

Street closures for the event will include portions of Court Street NE and Center Street NE between Capital Street NE and Church Street NE.

Drivers should expect increased pedestrian traffic and some delays, city officials said. Temporary signage indicating road closures and lane restrictions will be in place. Drivers are asked to plan accordingly and seek alternate routes.

The International Workers Day rally will include speeches, resource booths and a march around the Capitol block. This year, it is highlighting support for housing for all, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers, fully funded public schools, union rights for every worker and a cease-fire in Gaza.

Latinos Unidos Siempre, founded in 1996, works to empower youth to take leadership roles in the community. The group did not respond to an email message, and a phone call went to a full voice mailbox.

Salem-Keizer School District officials said that while students are allowed to exercise their freedom of speech, students who leave campus or do not return to class will receive unexcused absences.

“This is not a school-sanctioned or endorsed event,” district spokeswoman Emily Reverman said. “School administrators are monitoring this with their school teams to support student safety should a walkout occur on their campus.”

Tracy Loew covers education at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips: tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem youth group calls for high school walkout to support Palestinians