Thursday, January 4, 2007 Older Editions

Protests possible at high school

By April Guilmet

A group of Andover residents dubbed Wheels of Truth has been meeting this week to consider protesting the arrival of the pro-Palestinian Wheels of Justice organization at Andover High School.

Local realtor and attorney Pam Lebowitz, whose nephews attend Andover High, has organized the effort.

"My nephews came home from school and they were very upset. They happen to be Jewish but many of their friends are not," Lebowitz said.

Lebowitz said she's never been one to get involved in politics - until now. Some call her group the Wheels of Truth, while others refer to it as Peace Not Propaganda.

On Tuesday night, Lebowitz said more than 50 people met at her home to discuss a plan of action for this Friday, when the Wheels of Justice speakers will be at Andover High. While many there were upset with administrators, Lebowitz admitted school leaders' hands may be tied since the American Civil Liberties Union threatened a lawsuit.

"But we believe this is not a First Ammendment issue, but a curriculum issue," Lebowitz said.

An open discussion for all high school students, with representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, was scheduled Wednesday at Temple Emanuel from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Lebowitz planned to meet with her group again Wednesday night.

Parents and citizens wanting to hear Wheels of Justice speak at Andover High are welcome to do so, but not during school hours, when the speakers will talk to students in their classrooms, Principal Peter Anderson said. He encouraged the public to hear the group speak tomorrow, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. in the school library.

"I haven't permitted anyone to be present during the school day because this is an issue about providing a quality educational experience for the kids, without any distractions," he said Tuesday.

In addition to the Jan. 5 Wheels of Justice event, speakers from the Kennedy School of Government will offer an alternative perspective to students sometime during the week of Jan. 8. A presentation on the First Amendment, led by four attorneys, was scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 3.

The speakers, including the two representatives from Wheels of Justice, will be paid for by private donations that make up Anderson's discretionary spending fund, School Committee Chairman Tony James said Wednesday morning.

In a written statement sent home to parents on Dec. 22, Anderson offered students and parents the chance to opt out of any of the three presentations.

While Wheels of Justice had been banned from speaking at the school in October, Anderson reversed his decision last month when teachers' union president Tom Meyers and five other social studies teachers threatened a First Amendment lawsuit.

Lebowitz said she considers Wheels of Justice to be an extremist group. Although she said she doesn't have a problem with a pro-Palestinian group "with a reasonable view," she cringed at the group's Web site, where the term "ethnic cleansing" is used more than once to describe actions in Israel.

The group's Web site also features quotations by the likes of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. It says its prime focus is on "nonviolent education and action against war and occupation in Iraq and Palestine for justice and universal human rights." Based in Luck, Wis., the tour travels across the country by bus.

Lebowitz said that while she personally feels that the group should not be allowed in Andover classrooms at all, she'd prefer that a group with an alternative view speak at the same time, in an open forum, rather than on different days.

"The fact that there isn't [a balanced forum] is very disturbing," Lebowitz said.

She added that the group will have hours to speak to the students in each classroom. "They'll get into the students' brains without having someone else there to present another side of the subject. In my opinion, that's not what school is about," Lebowitz said. "And to have another group come by three days later? By then the damage is already done."

While she's not sure she'll protest this Friday, she is not alone in her opposition.

"There's been a lot of discussion, with the PTO, with the Anti-Defamation League, with attorneys, friends and parents. I think a lot of parents would have wanted this to stay canceled," Lebowitz said.

Larry Bruce is one of those parents. But, since the event was rescheduled, he said he would have settled for the ability to attend and videotape the talks. His request was denied.

"So basically what they've done is used the First Amendment to force this performance on the town. But they're doing it behind closed doors," Bruce said.

Bruce's daughter, Alexandra, is a sophomore at the school.

"She refuses to attend the performance. We're wondering if we even want her in school that day," he added.

The fact that his two children aren't yet attending high school is a moot point for David Katz, who agrees with Bruce and Lebowitz that political groups don't belong in public schools.

"School should be a place where truth is taught, as opposed to propaganda," Katz said. "And to have adults, who pretend to be honest educators, come in and provide our kids with slander and lies is totally unacceptable."

Others, such as Sarah Wunch, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, lauded Anderson's decision to allow Wheels of Justice to speak.

"I see this as a victory for the First Amendment, for academic freedom, and for kids learning to deal with controversial issues on their own," Wunch said.

"There's no constitutional right to prevent your kids from being exposed to ideas you don't like [while attending public school]. If there was such a law, public education would come to a halt," Wunch said.

Still, Lebowitz said her greatest hope is for the group to be canceled again.

"To me, the First Amendment isn't an issue. The issue here is extremist hate groups," she said.