BUCKLAND — As part of a nationwide protest, about 50 Mohawk Trail Regional School students walked out of class early on Tuesday to speak out against what they describe as the unconstitutional actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Students participated in the Free America Walkout, which entailed hundreds of walkouts that were held at the same time across the country, to push back against ICE raids, which students said have included taking people into custody and deporting them without giving them due process afforded to them under the Bill of Rights.
“They state that you cannot be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. This means that in order for a person to face legal consequences, there needs to be court proceedings,” junior Alaina Shearer said. “In relation to deportation, a person cannot be legally deported without due process.”
ICE agents have been reported to be using aggressive, militaristic tactics since President Donald Trump took office. Military-styled officers have been seen going door to door to find and detain immigrants, the Associated Press reports, while other masked officers have been seen smashing car windows, pulling people from their vehicles and homes, and taking them into custody. The actions have led to protests being held across the nation, and Trump has stated he would invoke the Insurrection Act to quell the protests.
Junior Katie Osterman said she heard about the nationwide walkout and, being concerned about the actions she’s seeing occur across the country, decided she wanted to join. She was nervous about planning an event, but said the cause is important to her, and she feels young people need to get involved politically.
“I just really felt strongly about the government corruption that’s happening right now and thought it would be a good thing to organize since I knew a lot of people at our school also felt strongly,” Osterman said. “Normally I’d be a little nervous to organize something this big, but it was important to me. … It’s really important for young people to get out and participate.”
She said that as the next generation, it is important for young people to make their voices heard and show up at protests or organize their own. She added that there have been times when she has been the only teenager at a protest, but her voice is no less important because she is young.
“More young people who care should really get out and try to participate in any way possible because it really does make a difference,” Osterman said.
Katie’s sister, freshman Abby Osterman, said they told their friends and classmates, and together they made signs and flyers, and passed along their message through word of mouth and social media to ensure everyone knew to walk out of class at 2 p.m.
“We believe that everybody should be treated kindly,” Abby Osterman said. “I think something bad is happening in our country right now and it’s very important that we should spread our voice.”
Freshman Ryah Pizzi said Katie Osterman brought up the idea of a walkout last week, and students immediately took to the idea and started making signs.
Although students couldn’t stay outside long, as many had to catch the bus home at 2:25, students stood in front of the school chanting and holding signs with drawings of the Statue of Liberty, melting ice cubes and Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. They also held messages such as “Immigrants Make America Great,” “The Wrong ICE is Melting” and “Justified Killing? I Don’t Think So.”
Senior Guinevere Silva-Ryan spoke about feeling “heartbroken” by the news of ICE raids across the country, and said people need to have hope and speak up for what they want to see in the world.
“More than ever it is important to do exactly what we are doing right now: spreading awareness,” Silva-Ryan said. “To hope is to bet on the future, the possibility that an open heart and uncertainty is better than gloom and safety. All of us are showing the world that we care and we hope and we have not left our humanity when our government has shown us time and time again that they do not care about us.”
Shearer told students that they need to keep speaking up, talk to their friends and neighbors, and write and call their legislators, and if they are able, donate to support organizations that are working to help immigrants during this time. Shearer said that to make a difference, they need to work together.
Silva-Ryan added that it is important to not just hope for the future but to fight for it, and that students should continue discussions about future protests and actions they can take.
“We need to fight for those who don’t have that privilege,” Silva-Ryan said. “We need to keep doing this and keep speaking up.”
Greenfield Center School
Elsewhere in Franklin County, Greenfield Center School students took part in a protest on the Greenfield Common on Tuesday, also held at 2 p.m.
