Story by Ellie Song, Uma Chakraborty, & Leighton Kwok
Staff Writers
Photo by Emi Essmiller, Zoe Chen, & Mac Shropshire
Online Managing Editor, Print Managing Editor, & Staff Photographer
The Free America Walkout against ICE occurred at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. Over 600 students from SPHS, with additional SPMS students, attended the protest in order to send a clear message that the youth have a voice regarding ICE.
The walkout was first announced on Monday, Jan. 26 by an anonymous SPHS student Instagram post. The post included standing up for education, as well as challenging the mindsets of ICE officers. The news quickly spread throughout the school, and by the end of the week, students showed up with homemade signs and posters, ready to peacefully walk out of sixth period class.
“I feel like in our position as youth members of this community, it’s kind of our responsibility to take charge and show people that we’re capable of having a political opinion and that our opinion matters,” freshman Max Gardoce said.
Some teachers at SPHS saw the protest as admirable and reduced the amount of homework and classwork, with some rescheduling tests and quizzes to accommodate those walking out.
Students gathered outside the gym on Diamond Street once lunch concluded. Many staff members even came to the edges of the school grounds to take pictures and videos. As the crowd grew, the organizer of the event, junior Olivia Alva, gave words of empowerment to the students.
“We’re the next generation to vote and I think we need to know our rights, we need to know what we stand for, and we need to be able to use our voices when it matters,” Alva said. “This is the perfect example that it does matter, and it just shows that a lot of people do care, and it was very inspiring to see that many people showed up.”
Students of SPHS walked through Diamond and onto Fremont to arrive at the intersection at Fair Oaks and Mission Street, where they gathered on all four corners, shouting chants and holding their signs for all to see.
“[This protest] is different [compared to other protests I have attended] because it’s usually a lot more adults, [but] this is a [huge] group of students coming together. I feel like we’re a connected community and it makes me feel good about school, because we’re all rising up to protest this cause,” freshman Alex Stephenson said.
Those passing by the intersection honked their horns in agreement. The energy remained high, and people started shouting unified chants, one of whom mentioned the importance of sticking together.
“If we’re unified it’s easier. If we’re not unified it’s easier to break us, but since we’re all together no one can break us,” seventh grader Emmit Yau said.
Students began chants in their cars, holding up their signs for all to see during the walkout.
“I think it’s really amazing to see what one society can do as a whole, and that if we want to do something, we can…We can say ‘hey, we don’t want [ICE] here, get out,’” freshman Zoe Wilson commented during the protest.
The energy was still going strong towards the end of the protest; at around 3 p.m., when the walkout had been scheduled to conclude, many students stayed after to continue protesting.
When asked why he would want to protest, Junior Atlas Montebrant pointed out, “If it was me who was suffering … I would want someone to fight back.”
