Recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement events have resulted in protests. In Los Angeles, Keith Porter was shot and killed Dec. 31. On Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, Renée Good was shot and killed. On Jan. 16, ICE agents in Omaha rounded people up to take them to detention centers.
On Jan. 20 at 2:30 p.m., students participated in a nationwide ‘Free America’ walkout, in response to the one-year anniversary of president Donald Trump’s second term. Students at Northwest initiated the walkout through a Jan. 18 post to the Instagram @nwhsclassof26. Benson, South and Bryan ended up participating, too.
Junior Suh Htoo shared the post and got her peers’ feedback that they wanted to join her in doing the walkout. Senior Maryann Bautista created an Instagram group chat that had over 100 of her peers, encouraging them to make signs and spread the word. Signs were made the night before, including those that said “No one is free when others are oppresed,” “History repeats itself if we stay silent” and “Fight for those who can’t.”
Htoo pointed out that the school’s diverse background is impacted by the political actions surrounding the community.
“I know Bryan has a high immigrant population, so students are affected, families and friends and neighbors and even citizens across the United States,” Htoo said. “So I felt like we should stand up to bullies, the Trump administration, and I just don’t feel like we should stay back and stay silent because that’s not good.”
Junior Christian Garcia-Hare felt moved by his status as a U.S. citizen to participate in the walkout.
“I am a citizen of the United States of America,” Garcia-Hare said. “How can we call ourselves the United States of America when we’re anything but united?”
Students’ willingness to participate in the walkout left a positive impression on Htoo.
“It was actually so heartwarming,” Htoo said. “It was great to see so many kids come out and support the movement.”
Garcia-Hare said his peers are what drove him to participate.
“It was actually really fun,” Garica-Hare said. “It motivated me a lot more because I had moral support with people who I knew, so it just made the entire protest just a lot more uplifting.”
Prior to the walkout, principal Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek focused on maintaining a secure environment, advising teachers via email not to hold students back and to mark them absent if they participated. Clark-Kaczmarek insisted on students staying on campus, where staff could monitor the situation.
“If they walk off the property, I can’t protect them,” Clark-Kaczmarek said. “But if they stay on the property, and they stay together and they allow us to keep an eye on them, then we can protect them from the outside in case of anything that happens.”
During the event, Htoo spoke out twice, in which she emphasized the importance of speaking out and advocated against staying silent.
“The first time it was at the very beginning and I started the chant and was like, ‘No justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets,’ … ” Htoo said. “The second time, I spoke about how we shouldn’t stay silent. We shouldn’t let history repeat itself.”
Garcia-Hare encourages his peers to use their voice to defend their identities and families.
“Stand up for your rights, stand up for who you are, stand up for your family,” Garcia-Hare said. “There are people out there who can’t speak, and by standing up, you’re able to speak for the people who can’t.”
Clark-Kaczmarek highlights the importance of students staying up-to-date with current events.
“I want students to know what’s going on,” Clark-Kaczmarek said. “That’s part of what we are as a society. Our job is to make sure the youth are ready to be the next generation of leaders.”
