High school students across the nation have held school-wide walk-out protests in opposition to the brutality of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. California holds a large concentration of these protests, many taking place in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and, now, Roseville.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, a group of Oakmont students organized a protest during one-lunch, in which over 100 students left campus to protest the recent ICE murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, as well as other barbarisms acted by the officers. Elizabeth Cusack (senior) was among these organizers, along with several freshman students, and they joined for a multitude of reasons.
Oakmont senior Addi Williams was in attendance and this is what she had to say about why she joined:
“This [stuff] needs to stop, it’s not fair,” said Williams. “It’s hurting people. It’s not helping people at all. I think [we] need to stand up for what [we] believe in.”
Students left campus at around 12:20 p.m., and walked down Cirby Way until they reached the intersection at Sunrise Avenue. Participants wielded signs that read from serious to funny: some signs said “ICE = Nazi” or “Stop Pretending Racism is Patriotism”, while others used Gen-Z internet slang, reading “The ‘C’ in ‘ICE’ stand for ‘Chud’.”
The crowd gathered at the Cirby/Sunrise intersection and spread out to the four corners of the intersection. Cars honked as they drove by in support or revved their engines with a finger out the window in disagreement. Either way, the protest garnered a reaction from passers-by. Shortly after the students reached this destination, Roseville Police officers showed up to monitor the situation, but rarely needed to intervene.
Many participants flew their country’s flag behind them while they danced to the music being played on a speaker brought by another student. Oakmont’s demographics are dominated by a large Hispanic or Latino population, so cultural pride was on display during the protest. It was a warmer day for February as well, which led students to pass out water bottles or get free water cups from the nearby McDonalds. The atmosphere was one of community, support, and togetherness, as students from all walks of life showed up to support one another.
Things did get a bit rowdy at a certain point, with students growing more fired-up and emboldened as time went on. Some began climbing street lights with signs and running through crosswalks when they didn’t have the green light, though these instances were settled by police quickly.
The protest ended up being posted on the Placer County Democratic Party Instagram page (@placerdems) and spread on social media within mere hours. Students left feeling revitalized and with a new sense of hope for the future of America. Many reported feeling inspired and powerful, having used their voice to stand for what they believed in.
