Quick Take
Activist Omar Dieguez told Lookout that Pajaro Valley Unified School District is not allowing him to present to students about the harms of pesticides during his monthlong hunger strike.
Activist Omar Dieguez, currently on a monthlong hunger strike to protest pesticide applications near schools, says Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials have “blocked” him from speaking to high school students about the dangers of agricultural chemicals.
Dieguez has been visiting schools within the district and speaking with students about the harms of pesticide exposure and his 30-day hunger strike, which began at the start of September. He told Lookout earlier this week that he presented at Cabrillo College, high schools in Salinas and elementary schools within PVUSD during the first two weeks of his fast.
Dieguez, a youth mentor for Santa Cruz-based Barrios Unidos, was also scheduled to speak at Watsonville High School Friday, but told Lookout on Thursday that his presentation was put “on hold” until further notice.
He was also scheduled to speak at Pajaro Valley High School earlier this week, but that event was canceled after Principal Todd Wilson asked Dieguez to get fingerprinted, submit his presentation to the district for review and get permission slips from teachers.
Dieguez said he was also asked by Wilson to invite Driscoll’s to show “both sides” of the pesticide issue. Dieguez and Watsonville-based Campaign for Organic & Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) are demanding that the region’s largest berry grower convert its fields near schools and residential areas entirely to organic ones.
Dieguez told Lookout that Driscoll’s did respond to his invitation, but declined to present alongside him, opting to speak at schools at a different date.
Yet, while he says completed all of the district’s requirements, the school still canceled his presentation, Dieguez said. “I’ve been to elementary schools. I’ve been to other high schools, and none of them made me do all these obstacles to get on campus,” he said.
For the schools he has visited, Dieguez told Lookout that teachers have been inviting him to come speak, and the process of entering a campus is the same: going through the front office and signing in as a visitor.
None of the other schools has asked him to get cleared by the district, he said. He had planned to present at Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools after teachers from those schools invited Dieguez to speak to their students, he said.
A student from Pajaro Valley High School also briefly participated in the hunger strike, fasting for only about five days, said Dieguez. He asked the student to stop fasting earlier this week in order to not jeopardize his health.
Dieguez said that he doesn’t understand the resistance from the district. “I’m not there to rattle up the students or cause any problems. I’m there to educate them on the harms [of pesticides],” he said.
PVUSD spokesperson Alejandro Chavez told Lookout that administrators and district officials are not trying to prevent or block Dieguez from speaking at the schools, they are simply following district policy regarding controversial topics.
Under the policy, teachers are expected “to ensure that all sides of a controversial issue are impartially presented, with adequate and appropriate factual information.” The policy also requires that forms be sent out to parents to grant permission for their student to participate in the discussion.
In this case, principals may have reached out to the district to ensure that it was OK to allow Dieguez onto their campuses and were informed about the policy, Chavez said. The district also requires volunteers and frequent guests, like Dieguez, to submit fingerprints since they are participating and interacting with minors, he said.
So far, Dieguez said the students he has spoken to have expressed interest in the issue and want to get involved in the movement. At schools in Salinas, he told Lookout that administrators want to invite him back for a more in-depth discussion.
“I’m an educator, I’m a mentor, and all I’m trying to do is educate our youth and ask for support to write letters to Driscoll’s and elected officials,” he said.
Midway through his monthlong hunger strike, Dieguez told Lookout this week that he was tired and struggling to focus but otherwise in good spirits. However, a fellow Watsonville native participating in the hunger strike had to break her fast after being hospitalized Wednesday night.
Providence Martinez Alaniz told Lookout she woke up Wednesday morning feeling very weak and could not get out of bed to pick up her kids from school. “When I got up, it was so hard for me to get up, and I was so exhausted,” said Alaniz. “I’m like, ‘Oh, this is not normal.’ I’ve never been this exhausted.”
Dieguez and his sister took her to the emergency room at Watsonville Community Hospital later that evening. There, doctors told Alaniz that she was really low on potassium, sodium and calcium, and that she also was severely dehydrated. She was also given antibiotic pills for an infection in her kidneys.
The 47-year-old is back at home with her family, resting up after being discharged from the hospital early Thursday. Alaniz told Lookout that she was going to try to eat some soup since she’s not sure how her stomach will react to food.
Despite the setback, Alaniz said she plans to continue in the hunger strike next week once her body has recovered, but added that she plans to “take it easy” and not use so much of her energy.
“I want the community to know I’m doing better, but I need everybody to speak up,” Alaniz said. “This is something serious that everybody needs to know that it’s affecting everybody. We need to stand united, and we need to stand loud and proud.”
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