On Jan. 20, the anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, hundreds of Tualatin High School students walked out of their classes at 2 p.m. in protest of federal ICE enforcement, a demonstration organized entirely by students.
“We thought this would be a really cool opportunity for our school,” Tualatin High School Junior Madeline Rowe told Tualatin Life. “A lot of people at our school don’t have a chance to go protest because they’re either scared or their parents don’t want them to.”
Rowe and her classmates said they were made aware of the walkout from the Free America website, which, according to the organization’s mission statement, assembled the nationwide walkout to boycott the “escalating fascist threat” of President Trump’s second term.
“On January 20 at 2 PM local time, we will walk out of work, school, and commerce. We will withhold our labor, our participation, and our consent. A free America begins the moment we refuse to cooperate,” reads the Free America website.
Students dispersed themselves down the sidewalk out in front of the school on Boones Ferry Road. Many waved banners and hoisted hand made signs decorated with slogans like “Ice belongs in drinks!” and “Speak for those who can’t.”
Junior, David Ortiz, said that he was “a bit skeptical” of the potential turnout leading up to the effort.
“Leading up to this, I was a bit skeptical about if people were gonna show up,” Ortiz said. “But seeing all the people out here is truly inspiring.”
About an hour into the walkout, Ortiz and other student organizers formed a circle in the crowd and read out names of individuals arrested by ICE officers into a megaphone, then held a moment of silence.
“We’ve been to a lot of protests in the past and noticed a real lack of youth,” said student organizer Mahaela Horsford. “We really think it’s because they don’t have that access…so we just really just wanted to organize this and make sure that people know their voice matters.”
Rowe said that organizers worked in tandem with school administrators to make sure the protest ran smoothly.
“It was really important to get this opportunity,” Rowe said. “So we worked with our admin and were able to plan it.”
Tualatin High School Principal Michael Dellerba told Tualatin Life that the protest was attended by over 500 students and that he was “really proud.”
“I’m really proud of how students are expressing themselves in a safe way,” Dellerba said. “That is what is needed in our world.”
Dellerba and other high school staff chaperoned the walkout until it ended a couple of hours after 2 p.m. Similar walkouts were initiated across the country on Jan. 20, including one at Tigard High School, which was attended by over 100 students.
