RELIVING ANTONIO'S PROTEST HBO'S `WALKOUT' STIRS MEMORIES FOR MAYOR.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stands on the steps of City Hall on a hot afternoon, facing a thousand extras working on the HBO movie ``Walkout.''

``In 1968, Antonio walked out!'' actor-director Edward James Olmos shouts to the crowd during a break in the action. As if on cue, the extras - Latinos, mainly of high school and college age - cheer.

They have turned out for a protest scene in the film, which tells the story of Chicano student walkouts from Los Angeles schools. As a teenager, Villaraigosa was among the 22,000 students who marched out of city schools, saying they were receiving second-class treatment from teachers, counselors and principals.

Olmos says he hopes his film will inspire a new generation of Latinos to walk out of classrooms in protest of an education system from which fewer than half of them will graduate.

The mayor has a different view.

After remarks to the crowd praising Olmos for making the film and those who took part in the '68 protest, Villaraigosa explained in an interview his own reasons for walking out.

He said Roosevelt High administrators placed him in an upholstery class despite his good grades. And when he expressed interest in going to law school, a biology teacher told him he'd never succeed at it.

``As a young boy I wanted to make a difference and, at that time, that's what I thought I should do.

``When you have so few young people going to great universities who come from these schools, when you have so many kids dropping out and so many who, when they graduate, really can't read and write at a college level, we've got big challenges.

``And I think in many ways this film is an opportunity to take a snapshot of history and maybe ask the same questions that young people were asking back then: 'Why?'''

But when asked about Olmos' desire to see students walk out once again, Villaraigosa viewed the idea not as a frustrated teenager but as the mayor. With a district enrollment that is nearly 73 percent Latino and state funds allocated according to pupil attendance, the impact of a walkout now would be huge.

``You know,'' he said, pausing to choose his words, ``being in the position where I am now and looking back, while I think it's important for people to express their indignation, ultimately I think there are more constructive things we could be doing, to be honest.

``Sometimes the idealism of youth is very important, but also the wisdom of understanding that ... you're either part of the problem or part of the solution.''

He suggested that students take constructive courses of action such as mentoring in grade schools or starting community improvement projects.

``I'm not negating the importance of protest. But I also see its limits as well. My mother told me this when I was in my 20s. She told me, 'Son, at some point in your life, people want to know what you're for, not what you're against.' And I've never lost that.''

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, flanked by filmmaker Moctezuma Esparza, speaks to movie extras in ``Walkout.''

Los Angeles Mayor's Office

(2 -- color) More than 1,000 extras were used during the filming of a protest scene for ``Walkout'' at L.A. City Hall.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News