It didn’t work.

Final exams went on, as they did at all other schools. Still, the organizer got more than 1,300 students to sign it over the past two days. 

“Greg,” who couldn’t be reached for comment, started the petition saying, the week “was meant to be final examination week here at Van Nuys High School, and at other LAUSD schools. On Tuesday, a threat was sent to the administration of the Los Angeles Unified School District of a caliber unseen before, prompting the closing of all schools in the district on that day. The students of Van Nuys were thoroughly shocked, finding that the scheduling for their examinations will have to be changed. All exams were pushed a day forward, which conflicts with the vacation plans of many students who have bought tickets for various venues months ahead of this week.”

“This petition is a way to voice the concerns of students and parents alike, saying that there should be NO final examinations for Van Nuys High School this school week. The trauma caused from these threats and the resulting actions taken by students will cause extreme stress in the days following, creating scores that are not likely to be representative of a student’s full capabilities.”

The petition was directed at school principal Yolanda Gardea, and for some unexplained reason, California Senator Barbara Boxer.

Some of the comments for explaining why students shouldn’t have to take exams bordered on the unbelievably selfish. Some students complained they had other plans, some wanted to go on vacation early. Other students talked about auditions they wanted to attend, schools they wanted to visit and shopping they needed to do. Others said they simply didn’t want to take finals.

And others expressed fear, proper grammar notwithstanding. Veronica Gomez said, “I don’t feel comfortable enough going back to school knowing just a day before our lives the nation students lives were in great danger and you expect us to go back like nothing happen (sic) and be fine with the fact we were almost killed at 14-18 years old wow okay great that’s just great.”

And Harman Singh said, “I am heated. These domestic terrorists are depriving me of a full day of education. I will not stand for disenfranchisement like this!”

Dove Renet, added, “Students will not be able to concentrate on their finals due to the fear of a terrorist attack. Just because it didn’t happen today doesn’t mean it won’t happen Thursday, or Friday.”

Parent James A. Harris Jr. said, “Our 3 children will not be taking the finals tomorrow, anyway. They have been traumatized by this whole ordeal. We want them to be safe, & in 1 piece. How will they even be able to sleep comfortably in their warm, cozy beds without imagining the sheer terror of being killed while taking their finals?”

And some signers showed by how they signed that maybe they should be spending more time in school, than on the Internet.

Said one, “I’m a little scared to go to school after this camotion.” (sic)

With public pressure mounting and Gov. Jerry Brown calling for support of adult education for the disabled, the district found money to keep the program going after announcing the program’s closure in April.

Noelle Gabay, a petition organizer, solicited support from such groups as the teacher’s union UTLA, the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness and the California Department of Education to show support for the disabled and deaf as a funding priority.

“It has been a real battle, convincing LAUSD that these students deserve access to our educational system,” Gabay said.

A friend of hers, she said, suffered a permanent brain injury from an accident and he cannot speak but was taking the classes with his mother and finally was feeling whole again. “This ASL-based program allows him a rare opportunity to fully participate in our educational system,” she said. “He is inspired, motivated and truly values his time in class. They can now understand each other. That outcome is priceless.”

The LAUSD classes were going on in the North Valley Occupational Center, the Friedman Occupational Center and Marlton School.

Gabay said the battle to reinstate the classes took “a great deal of effort on a number of fronts.” She launched the petition and encouraged calls to the district. She found allies in Sacramento at the Department of Education. Matthew Kogan from UTLA helped, as did student advocate Manon Tree and Patricia Hughes, the chief executive officer for the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness.

“She worked tirelessly to save this program and preserving adult education for the deaf and disabled,” Gabay said of Hughes. “Her efforts in this area are ongoing and she is an expert and advocate for the deaf community.”

A scene from “The Birth of a Nation”

A petition inspired by UTLA social justice activist Jose Lara is calling for the immediate removal of the name D.W. Griffith from an East Los Angeles middle school because his 1915 film, “The Birth of a Nation,” celebrated the Ku Klux Klan.

The demand follows nationwide calls for the removal of Confederate flags from public spaces in the aftermath of the June 17 shootings of nine people in a Charleston, S.C. church by a suspect who said he was motivated by racism.

“After a Klansman murdered nine people in South Carolina, this should be a no brainer,” Marian Sunde wrote when she signed the petition. “Don’t stall, study the question, worry about backlash, just do the obvious, correct thing.”

David Wark Griffith Middle School, at 4765 E. 4th St., has 1,400 students 6th through 8th grade. One percent of the students are white, one percent are black, and 98 percent are Hispanic. It is in Mónica García‘s District 2. The school opened in 1939.

Lara was recently named the 2015 Social Justice Activist of the Year by the National Education Association (NEA). He said the idea for a petition came after he read an NPR story about Griffith’s film, which made Klansmen look like heroes.

The three-hour film starts with the scroll: “This is an historical presentation of the Civil War and Reconstruction Period, and is not meant to reflect on any race or people of today.” The film was originally called “The Clansman” and is based on a book that glorified the KKK.

Some of the black characters were played by white men in black face, and the film ends with Klansmen riding in to save the South from black rule during Reconstruction.

At the time of its release, it was considered racist propaganda and there were widespread protests. The KKK used the film as a recruiting tool. Dick Lehr, author of “The Birth of a Nation: How a Legendary Filmmaker and a Crusading Editor Reignited America’s Civil War,” writes, “[Griffith] portrayed the emancipated slaves as heathens, as unworthy of being free, as uncivilized, as primarily concerned with passing laws so they could marry white women and prey on them.”

“Our kids should not go attend a school named after someone who glorified the KKK,” wrote Leopoldo Urias who signed the petition.

Gabriel Cabrera added, “It is absurd that we have come this far with civil rights and we still have to attend a school that is named after someone responsible for mass killings of minority communities.”

A history teacher from Downey, Silvio Vidal, wrote, “As a history teacher, the rise of the KKK is part of the content I’m required to teach. How can a school bear the name of a man who made a racist movie glorifying the KKK?”

A few former students who signed the petition said they knew nothing of the significance of Griffith’s name. Brenda Mejia said, “I attended this middle school and was unaware of the history behind David Wark Griffith up until now and do not support his film.”

Marcela Chagoya, of Monterey Park, wrote, “I am signing this petition because it’s crucial that our future leaders, the children of today, learn that the past is meant to be learned from and used as a stepping stone to CHANGE the present and future of our society. The past is not meant to be perpetuated or idolized, especially when it promotes discrimination and hate based on ethnic differences!”

Lara said he planned to present the petition to the school board after he collected more than 200 signatures. He almost reached that goal in less than 24 hours.

“Please help us gain more traction and educate the public on the truth about D.W. Griffith and his film ‘Birth of Nation,’” Lara wrote. “You might as well have a confederate flag flying outside of the school!”