On Thursday. Feb. 12, an estimated 300 Waltham High School students participated in a student-led walkout against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The walkout represented student concerns that ICE’s unlawful activity has gone too far, that it is no longer possible for students to tolerate or ignore it. The demonstration was peaceful and took place on school grounds during the last academic period of the school day from about 1-2 p.m.
The walkout was planned by an anonymous student on Instagram and was first planned for last Thursday. The protest was postponed a week to coordinate logistics with school administration and to incorporate the support of Waltham High School’s Revolutionary Equity Council (REC). According to the high school website, REC is “a student advocacy group that serves as the umbrella organization for student-led cultural, ethnic, and racial equity work within Waltham High School,” such as the Black Student Union, Asian Student Union, Muslim Student Union and many others.
The walkout consisted of student speakers, lots of signs, music, singing, and dancing. Students walked with handheld flags representing their personal immigrant stories. The energy was exciting; there was a feeling of empowerment and unity in the school community.
The mission of the walkout as described by organizers and protesters was to make sure all students at the high school, immigrants and non-immigrants alike, feel heard, valued, and appreciated. A protester reported that their goal was to make sure immigrants in our school know that their peers and community do not share the same narrative about immigrants as the Trump administration. Many students at Waltham High School instead have the narrative that their “friends are immigrants,” their peers, and their families are immigrants.
When asked what the purpose of the walkout was, students said it was about making people who could be targeted by ICE have a sense of safety. One student reported that it was for “the people who would be afraid to do what we’re doing now.” Protesting students mentioned how this is a movement that began in high schools, small towns, and in communities all around the country and has a much larger impact. The overarching message coming from the high school on Thursday was that students will stand up for each other and that “everybody shares the same blood.”
Editor’s note: Student names are not attached to the quotes in the article for their safety and anonymity
