In early January the Young Socialists participated on a team with other communists that went to the coalfields in Alabama to meet and talk politics with coal miners. This opened the door for meeting students at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. At the university we met youth interested in learning more about socialism, and helping to organize speaking engagements for farmers from the United States who recently went to Cuba to find out more about what the workers and farmers there have accomplished since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959.

On February 2 at the campus the YS held a class on the pamphlet Socialism and Man in Cuba, which is a letter by Ernesto Che Guevara and a speech by Fidel Castro, two central leaders of the Cuban revolution. Six students from the university and one high school student from Birmingham attended the class. The class included discussion on why the word "vanguard" is used in the pamphlet, what the term "new man" means, and what socialism is.

On February 5 a Militant Labor Forum was held at the Raddison Hotel titled, "Land and Justice: Black Farmers Speak Out."

The Young Socialists also held a raffle to finance the YS national pamphlet, which will be published in the spring. Prizes included a picture of Pedro Albizu Campos, a leader of the Puerto Rican independence struggle in the 1930s; a YS mug; a BFAA T-shirt; and more. YS members raised $175.

A few days later students held a continuation of the class on Socialism and Man in Cuba at the University of Alabama. Three students from the university and two high school students from Birmingham attended the class. When the phrase "dictatorship of the proletariat" was mentioned, one participant asked wouldn't that create oppression all over again. In every class society, one class exercises its rule over the other. The dictatorship of the proletariat, some participants explained, means that the working class takes power.

When asked about the class, high school senior Elizabeth Darnell said that it was good to be able to discuss the pamphlet and that everyone was able to participate in it. The next class will be on The Communist Manifesto.

On the weekend of February 12–13, a joint team of the Birmingham-Atlanta YS and SWP went down to Valdosta, Georgia, to meet with YS member David and to visit A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, where there have been explosive pro-affirmative action protests. The team set up a literature table in front of a cafeteria near the dorms. A&M students there bought a copy of the book By Any Means Necessary by Malcolm X, as well as a couple of copies of the Militant.

The next morning team members had a political discussion on building a speaking engagement at their campus Valdosta State for the farmers when they return from Cuba. The Birmingham and Atlanta YS have also recruited new members to the Young Socialists. Atlanta now has two members and Birmingham is now a chapter of three.

Rosa Greene is a garment worker; Ricardo Zuniga, a textile worker, contributed to this article.  
 

The center of the controversy is El Modena High School where a group of students has organized a Gay-Straight Alliance club on the campus. Using the excuse that it is inappropriate for students to lead discussions on "sensitive topics" such as sex and sexuality--things which are supposedly reserved for the sex education class only--the Orange Unified School District school board decided to ban the club from meeting on the school grounds.

Students responded by filing a lawsuit against the district based on the Equal Access Act of 1984, enacted to prevent schools that accept federal funds from picking and choosing among extracurricular clubs based on what might be discussed at meetings. A judge has now ordered the school board to allow the club to meet until the case is heard in the courtroom.

The Orange Unified School District school board, in a desperate attempt to stop the meetings, took a step further by threatening to ban all 38 noncurricular clubs. The school board has spent nearly $50,000 so far on its legal defense.

In the meantime, suddenly put under the spotlight, gay students and their supporters--more than 50 students signed the petition for the club--are facing harassment on a daily basis. Insults, threats, and even physical violence has become something that these students must cope with.

Anthony Colin, who organized the group at El Modena High School, says that he was inspired to form the club by the death of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old freshman from the University of Wyoming who was murdered because of his homosexuality.

Colin and other leaders of the El Modena group said they hoped to raise public consciousness and promote tolerance by providing forums for discussion on issues related to sexual orientation and homo-phobia.

Fifteen-year-old Colin described the aims and activities initially planned by the club in an interview in the L.A Youth newspaper: "I would like to see teachers go through anti-homophobia classes, where they will learn to deal with situations put in front of them every day. We would go on field trips to the Tolerance Museum for example. Stuff like that."

The Los Angeles Young Socialists recognizes this incident as an attack on the basic democratic rights of all students. This battle is another piece in the series of attacks on the rights of the workers and the youth today. The ruling class increasingly attempts to make scapegoats out of immigrants, oppressed nationalities, homosexuals, women, and youth for the crisis of capitalism. What ultrarightist politician Patrick Buchanan described as the "cultural war" is in full effect and youth are one of its main targets.

One cannot view this recent event separately from California's Proposition 21, which would lower the age limit at which young people can be "tried as adults" and executed, or Proposition 22, which would outlaw gay marriages by not recognizing marriages that take place in other states where it might be legal. Several demonstrations to protest these two propositions, which will appear on the March 7 primary ballot here, will take place over the next two weeks.

The Los Angeles YS plans to participate in these protests, to focus on a campaign against these two propositions, and to support the El Modena Gay-Straight Alliance in its fight to exist. The YS is calling on high school students in this area to protest the ban on student clubs in Orange County.

If you are interested in joining us in these protests, contact the Young Socialists at 2546 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006. (213) 380-9460.  
 
 
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