Hundreds of high schoolers protest deportations and increased immigration enforcement by walking out of school and marching in downtown Redwood City to County Center Thursday morning.
Hundreds of students from high schools walked out of school Thursday morning and marched in downtown Redwood City in protest of deportations and rise in immigration enforcement, joining similar demonstrations nationwide.
Just three days after a protest primarily attended by families was held in the same area, students organized their own effort, making their own voices heard. The effort was entirely organized by students from Woodside, Sequoia, Menlo-Atherton, Tide Academy, Summit Prep, Redwood and San Mateo high schools.
Despite the rain, students were committed to make the march, with those from Woodside High School walking upwards of three miles. As each school contingent made their way downtown, streets became filled with flags representing various Latin American countries and many students in Mexican jerseys or colors.
Andy Villeda, a senior at Woodside High School, was one of about 10 student organizers across campuses. Although he said he did not consider himself “the activist type” he felt, as a child of immigrants, this cause was important.
“When we were marching from Woodside, we took up a lot of Woodside Road and that felt really good seeing the turnout,” Villeda said. “It’s a very emotional moment seeing community come together for something we all believe in.”
The protest came together in less than two weeks, Villeda said, and the urgency came from students feeling like they needed to speak out for those who are undocumented and may be afraid to do so themselves.
“It’s really heartbreaking because a lot of those people are so valuable to our community,” Villeda said. “We want to be the voice for them because they don’t have a voice for themselves.”
In an effort to demonstrate support, Luc Gnamien came out to Courthouse Square and brought cases of snacks and drinks for the students protesting. Gnamien works for a community-based organization hosted at Menlo-Atherton High School and, when he heard students were protesting, he wanted to help.
School policies prevent staff from walking out with students in such demonstrations, which Gnamien said felt “counterintuitive.”
“I feel like we’d want to make sure they’re safe, that they have the things they need and that we’re empowering them to uplift their voices especially for such a serious subject,” Gnamien said.
Although Gnamien said adults can “do more” to empower students, he was impressed with how the protest came together.
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“The fact that they were able to put something together at this size, this quickly, and this well coordinated,” Gnamien said. “There are certain things they don’t have, like megaphones and speakers, and I think that’s where we, as adults, are supposed to come in and support them and uplift them in what they’re doing.”
The demonstration was stopped somewhat abruptly after some participants got in a fight, but Villeda said he still believes the effort was successful.
“It’s not representative of us as a community, it’s just bad timing,” Villeda said about the fight. “I’m a little disappointed that it ended a little early, but I’m really glad with the turnout and all the support from people.”
When planning the walkout, Villeda said organizers were worried no one would participate, but were pleased with the amount who were committed to the cause, or at least felt moved to make a statement.
“Some people might argue that some of them came out just to skip, and that’s still cool,” Gnamien said. “They’re still making an impact by removing their presence from the institutions that are open for ICE agents to come in and remove children.”
A recent executive order from President Donald Trump eliminated previous “safe zones” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including schools and places of worship. However, districts throughout the county have made declarations they will not cooperate with ICE in conducting arrests.
Novice in organizing, students plan on learning from this demonstration and take notes for any future protests, Villeda said.
“I think we need to analyze, sit down and see what we could have done better,” Villeda said. “After what happened, we have to take that into consideration and make sure that next time everyone is even more safe and everyone feels even more included.”
Although Villeda’s parents eventually got their permanent residency established, he recognizes that “other families might not be as fortunate,” and believes there is still more to be done.
“I want to just put the work out there and educate people on how serious this is and how immigrants are the backbone of our society,” Villeda said.
These protesters remind me of a statement by one of our presidents who was criticized for willing to work with unsavory foreign leaders. He said essentially that they may be murderous despots, but they are our despots. These protesters appear to tell us that they may have criminals in their midst but they are THEIR criminals. Not yours or mine, mind you!
Our taxpayer money pays for this. Everyone loses. School funding is less, and less days in class to learn.
"Schools generally do not get paid when students are absent; in many states, including California, school funding is based on "average daily attendance," meaning schools only receive money for the days students are actually present in class, effectively losing funding when students miss school, regardless of the reason for their absence."
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These protesters remind me of a statement by one of our presidents who was criticized for willing to work with unsavory foreign leaders. He said essentially that they may be murderous despots, but they are our despots. These protesters appear to tell us that they may have criminals in their midst but they are THEIR criminals. Not yours or mine, mind you!
Our taxpayer money pays for this. Everyone loses. School funding is less, and less days in class to learn.
"Schools generally do not get paid when students are absent; in many states, including California, school funding is based on "average daily attendance," meaning schools only receive money for the days students are actually present in class, effectively losing funding when students miss school, regardless of the reason for their absence."
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.