By Heather Posey, Staff writer
Plaintiffs in the Wilson High School lawsuit led a protest march along 2nd street in Belmont Shore Saturday.
Just three days after the school year started at Wilson, the girls gymnastics team and supporters walked the streets of Belmont Shore, holding signs and reminding the community of their fight to get back their gymnasium, which was converted into a multipurpose weight room.
“Their specially equipped gymnastics room was taken away and is being rebuilt as a football weight room,” said Meghan Garvey, one of the plaintiffs. “It is an obvious discrimination on the basis of sex.”
Chris Eftychiou, spokesperson for the Long Beach Unified School District, said, “Their allegations of the lawsuit are without merit. The school district has been completely compliant with regulations.”
Since the protest rally last month, the school administration has called for a case dismissal on “technical grounds.” Attorneys for the plaintiffs have moved for a preliminary injunction to get their gym space back until the court has come to a final ruling, but no decision has been made in either direction.
“So far, things have been postponed,” said Denise Devereaux, plaintiff and one of the organizers of the march. “Right now the girls are practicing on the grass.”
The girls claim they spent their first days running around the track and stretching on the grass of the football field.
“This week has been atrocious,” said gymnastics coach Steve Marion. “Normally we take roll call, introduce the girls to the equipment, go over equipment safety and do some beginning tumbling. This past week we just sat in the bleachers.
“We know it’s a difficult change for the team at best,” said Eftychiou. “But Principal Brown has been diligent about making it a smooth transition.”
The team grows more frustrated, and they state they have become a “non-priority” and claim that they are not even allowed to talk about the issue at school.
“Principal [Diane] Brown announced at a teachers meeting that there was a lawsuit and that she didn’t want any discussion about it on campus or [anywhere in] the school that there is a lawsuit in progress,” said Devereaux.
Eftychiou said, “It is standard to request that people to discuss an existing lawsuit.”
For the 90 minutes that the team walked 2nd Street, they were met with honks of support and inquiries of the team and their situation at Wilson High.
One girl, who was considering going to Wilson because of the gymnastics team, was disappointed to hear that they have no appropriate place to practice. She walked with them for a few minutes, then walked away, wishing them luck in gaining support.
The girls’ next move is to wear buttons saying, “Support Wilson gymnastics,” which their lawyers deem acceptable and within the guidelines of the administration.
“We’ll see what kind of response they’ll get,” said Devereaux. “The lawyers said [if] they tell them to take it off, then we’ll have a first amendment issue in our hands.”
