April 4th, 2010 will mark thirty years that Carlos Alberto Torres will have been in prison for “Seditious Conspiracy to Overthrow the US government.”  As a school and a community, we will be trying to educate people about the terms and conditions that he has faced.  The Batey Urbano is sponsoring a group of individuals to spend twenty four hours in a mock cell (located in the Batey Urbano’s store front window 2620 W. Division).  The cell is 6 x 9, has a cot, a guard, a toilet, and these individuals will be imprisoned at 6:00PM and released at 6:00PM the next day.  The event started Friday March 19th with our school’s own Janeida Rivera.

March 25th, students of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School, will be writing letters to Carlos in their classes.  The lesson is described below…

For more information and to visit the National Boricua Human Rights Network please click here

Task:
Write a letter to Carlos Alberto Torres addressing the questions below, and including anything else you would like him to know.
Criteria:
1. Letter must be one page (written)
2. At least a three sentence Introduction: Who are you and how long have you been with the school?
3. Respond to one or more of the topics below
4. Three sentences or more  “thanking”  Carlos Alberto Torres for his effort in creating the school that they now attend

• potential topic 1 – how has the school played a role in your growth and development as a person? as a student? as a member of your community?
• potential topic 2 – how has the school supported you in pursuing your educational and life goals?
• potential topic 3 – what have you learned about Puerto Rican culture and history, or other cultures and histories from being here?
• potential topic 4 – share some experiences that were meaningful to you during your time here at the school.
• potential topic 5 – share some of the “most funny moments” that you have by being here in the school.
• potential topic 6 – share why you think this school is unique in comparison to other schools.

5. Students are also encouraged to write to Oscar Lopez Rivera

Please use these videos to understand the circumstances that Carlos Alberto Torres is experiencing…

This is a video put together by the Boricua Human Rights Network…

This is a video of the Batey play “Crimes Against Humanity.” Documenting the day to day life that some of the Puerto Rican Political prisoners experienced. This play was put together by Mike Reyes and Luis Rosa and the Batey Urbano…

This video is a news clip from 1999 discussing a view on the “Clemency offer” by President Bill Clinton…