FVHS students protesting ICE walked out of class at 12:45 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23. Students met outside of the atrium and paraded around the school to end at the football field. Students are upset about how ICE is handling the immigration crisis. They believed that there was too much violence and decided to walk out to stand up for the cause.
Sophomore Camila Barrera said, “I came out to the ICE protest because it’s so important for our generation to speak up. Especially because we’re the future of this country and we’re the ones who are gonna be here when the government is dead. It’s so important to speak out against ICE and anything that’s horrible or biased against our country.”
There were many rules to the protest so the learning environment was not disrupted. Some students made posters for the protest and chanted. Some quotes were biblical or historical and referred to being a nation of immigrants. Others showed melting ice cubes with a red X. Signs were in English and Spanish, and some students carried flags of their homeland. Cultural music was played in the background, and some students danced.
Junior Hadrien Helbick-Eyre is an immigrant from Britain but still cares for his fellow immigrants.
“I don’t want to see my friends be taken, and I don’t want to see them force it, especially so violently,” said Helbick-Eyre.
Police were around the school to keep everyone safe. They were in charge of protecting the students who protested. Teachers who didn’t have a fourth period were also around for safety. All of the protest was student led.
“[I joined] because no one deserves to be dehumanized like this. This is a repeat of what happened before World War II, and I’m on a stand for it,” said senior Alexa Stokes.
This is many students’ first protest. Students like freshman Hannah Sopko and junior Florence Mondragon participated in the walkout as their first protest. Though the two were nervous, they wanted to protect the rights of their friends.
Mondragon said, “I wanted to show our lovely federal government that their actions won’t go unnoticed or unpunished anywhere in the United States.”
In the end students met up in the football field after the small parade around the school parking lots. The event ended with chanting on the bleachers and waving signs. Students were excited and hopeful that their actions will make a difference.
