Meeting Time: December 14, 2023 at 4:00pm PST
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Agenda Item

L.-1 23-2710 Public Comment On All Non-Agenda Items Within the Subject Matter Jurisdiction of the District - December 13, 2023.

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    Zachariah Barghouti 9 months ago

    This is a no-brainer and an easy ask if you listen to your heart. I am asking for the board to demand a permanent ceasefire and to center the voices of Muslim and Arab community members. After the 3rd cancellation in a row, the Board’s moral evasion is very clear, but understandable given the backlash from the anti-ceasefire supporters. Pro-Ceasefire supporters make up the majority here and internationally. You can change course tonight and demand a ceasefire now.

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    Catalina OConnor 9 months ago

    As a resident of Oakland and an arts educator I urge OUSD to pass a ceasefire resolution.

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    Aysha Abraibesh 9 months ago

    I demand that the OUSD Board of Directors hold a special meeting next week to introduce a resolution for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. This is directly impacting our community and our students, many of whom are experiencing severe anti-Arab racism and hate. The community overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire resolution and explicit commitment to Oakland's beautiful legacy of equality and racial justice. History will remember where the Board stood.

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    Amber Kury 9 months ago

    I am a nurse and I strongly urge OUSD to schedule a special meeting to discuss and pass and the Permanent Ceasefire Resolution. Our Palestinian, Muslim and Arab children need to feel safe in their schools as they witness this horrific CONTINUED assault on their brothers and sisters. 8,000 children have been killed. A school was targeted yesterday where IDF soldiers shot everyone dead. There are now over 325,000 cases of infectious diseases, 22 hospitals and 46 primary care centers bombed and out of service and the UN says half of Gaza's population is now starving. There are no “sides.” There is one side and it’s humanity. Nothing justifies this kind of assault on children and civilians. OUSD I urge you to show your students that you value the lives of all children, and stand on the side of humanity.

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    Mona Trevino 9 months ago

    We need you to join Oakland's city council leaders and pass a permanent ceasefire resolution. I have heard from Palestinian, Arab and Muslim families who are in distress because of OUSD's lack of concern for their needs in this time. Please be the leaders we elected you to be; stop threatening teachers who are teaching about critical matters in the classroom and listen to the voices of our Arab families. Shutting out the public from our meetings and shaming the public for speaking up is undemocratic and not the leadership our communities need! Join us in working together to oppose this genocide that affects millions around the world, including so many that we care for in our district.

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    Robert LiuTrujillo 9 months ago

    Hello, Im an OUSD Parent in favor of a ceasefire resolution. I have a college student that went from K-12 almost entirely in OUSD schools and I have a current TK student in an OUSD school.

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    Xo C 9 months ago

    OUSD K-12 and now a mother of children attending OUSD- My support emphasizes the importance of exposing and educating youth on various critical topics, such as calling for a ceasefire, ending genocide, speaking truth to power, opposing colonization and apartheid, and advocating for peace. It urges against confusing these discussions with antisemitism and encourages education over silence to combat ignorance.

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    Lujain AlSaleh 9 months ago

    As program staff of Frontline Catalysts, a climate justice leadership program for OUSD students, we are calling on OUSD to join the worldwide call and demand for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine. As a school district that strives to achieve racial justice and address historic and existing inequities, passing a resolution in support of a ceasefire is the least that OUSD can do to truly stand on the right side of history and affirm its commitment to racial justice. Our youth at Frontline Catalysts, who are as young as 11 years old, understand that the ongoing displacement and violence against Palestinian people is not complicated. The youth want their school district to stand on the right side of history and to make it clear that we will never remain silent as an ongoing genocide unfolds. Your students, families, and community are calling on you to make the right decision and affirm your commitment to justice for all people. Long live international solidarity.

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    Laura Jean Torgerson 9 months ago

    I am an OUSD parent (one middle school, one HS student) writing to demand that the board schedule a special meeting next week to discuss and vote on the Permanent Ceasefire Resolution no. 2234-0159 . The Israeli military attack on Gaza has led to over 18,000 deaths, more than half children. OUSD students, families and staff have lost family members and are directly affected by this humanitarian crisis.

    OUSD is adopting a harmful culture of silence by failing to ensure our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim families feel respected and acknowledged as valued members of our community during this crisis. I urge OUSD to show it values our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and community members in this historic time of grief and injustice by supporting this resolution for permanent ceasefire.

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    Amanda Seaton 9 months ago

    I am 15 year veteran teacher in OUSD and also a resident of District 6. I strongly support a resolution for ceasefire. I demand that OUSD hold a school board meeting to address this human rights issue that impacts so many of our students, and families. I'm shocked by the repeated cancellation of OUSD school board meetings and the flagrant interruption of the democratic process.

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    Katherine Avery 9 months ago

    I am an OUSD community member and parent writing to demand that the board schedule a special meeting next week to discuss and vote on the Permanent Ceasefire Resolution no. 2234-0159. The Israeli military attack on Gaza has led to over 18,000 deaths, more than half children. There is no safe place in Gaza for civilians, or folks serving the community like doctors and journalists. OUSD students, families and staff have lost family members and are directly affected by this humanitarian crisis. Those in the OUSD community who are not directly affected want to stand up and speak out for those who are and to do all they can to advocate for and support a lasting ceasefire. I urge the board to actually hold a meeting next week where the resolution for a ceasefire can actually be discussed and voted on by the board and I urge all members of the board to vote in support of the resolution.

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    Zak Habash 9 months ago

    Please show our Oakland students that you care about human life and oppose genocide, settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing. Call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and let students know that you value us as human beings.

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    Mary Prophet 9 months ago

    Please pass a resolution in favor of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

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    Kristi Yee 9 months ago

    Support the ceasefire. Have material that is unbiased to teach and talk with the students about what is happening in the Gaza and the world right now.

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    Sundus Assaf 9 months ago

    Growing up, I always felt isolated from my classmates, though I was american just like them, because I lived in a post-9/11 america. my teachers never spoke out against islamaphobia, or the iraq war, or the racism I was facing, and it felt like I stood alone as a 7 year old. I don’t want the same to happen to kids this generation. It’ll impact the middle eastern and muslim students in a positive way if you call for a ceasefire, and it’ll reaffirm that they belong and should not be scared.

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    Thomas MartinEdwards 9 months ago

    Please affirm the arab and muslim students in our district by supporting a ceasefire and allowing schools to discuss the crisis in Gaza without the use of biased materials from the Israeli lobby.

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    C Garcia 9 months ago

    Writing to urge you, as representatives of Oakland, to demand a permanent ceasefire for the Palestinian people.
    I grew up in Oakland schools, with my family engaging in and working in OUSD. I’ve witnessed slow processes made slower by people in power resisting the will of their district’s students and families. Show the students, that you’re paid to support, that you care about their safety and well-being by demanding safety for kids and civilians in Gaza.

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    Naima Shalhoub 9 months ago

    As a former ousd restorative justice staff member I strongly urge the district to issue a demand for a ceasefire in Palestine as the very minimum step toward making sure our students are safe at school. Not taking this stance puts our Arab and Muslim students at continued risk (they are already being attacked) and also joins the polarization of Zionism which seeks to lump all Jewish people with Israel, which in itself is anti-Semitic. anti-Arab racism is growing and the district must be held accountable for putting our families at risk of more violence by taking clear stances against violence for all our families, especially BIPOC communities. I implore you and your hearts to make the right, and very clear, decision: Justice is justice for all, not some. Free Palestine and all Indigineous peoples. Thank you.

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    Julio Rios 9 months ago

    I am a parent and resident of OUSD District 1.
    I oppose OUSD’s consistent anti-Arab and Islamophobic position toward students and censorship of Palestine in schools.
    Please make a positive statement affirming that you value Palestinian lives as much as anyone else's.

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    Haneen Ali 9 months ago

    I'm a constituent of Oakland and I urge the board to center voices of Arabs and Muslim students as they face a horrible tragedy. I wished as a child in our public school systems to have been seen and heard when I saw my family being murdered overseas. I urge the board not to repeat the mistakes of the past and make sure our children feel safe in their schools. Calling for a Ceasefire is the simplest ask. Calling for the killing to stop should not be controversial. I urge you to heed our calls and join the right side of history.