Rally At Apollo Supports Muslim Students In St. Cloud Schools

March 29, 2010

Author: Dave Aeikens

Source: St Cloud Times

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010103290058

More than two dozen Muslims and their supporters rallied for peace Monday across from Apollo High School to show support for students who attend the St. Cloud schools.

The rally was on public property on the west side of 44th Avenue North across from Apollo. It went from about 8:30 a.m. and ended before 1 p.m., said Mohamoud Mohamad, executive director of the St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization and the organizer of the rally.

The rally ended about two hours before it was scheduled to end. Mohamed said that was because people had been there a long time, there were no easily accessible bathrooms and the wind made it chilly.

“We transmitted the message we intended to transmit,” Mohamed said.

Those at the rally say the school staff is not doing enough to keep Muslim students from being harassed and in some cases is contributing to it. The rally comes less than a week after a Minnesota Muslim civil rights group announced it asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate a series of allegations that could create a hostile learning environment for Somali and Muslim students at Apollo and Technical high schools.