Students gathered to discuss opinions and voiced inspirational words of encouragement.
Trump fires up school protest
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Prior to the election that took place on Nov. 8, posts and tweets on social media boomed with comments such as “we’re doomed” or “time to move to Canada,” and countless other negative comments regarding President-elect Donald J. Trump. There was a particular recurring post which read, “All schools walkout through the front doors at 9:00 a.m. Spread the Word! FDT”, and spreading the word was just what happened at San Gabriel High on Nov. 10.
Taking place during second passing period, the protest began with just a few people; though slowly, a crowd started to form in front of San Gabriel, with chants calling out “FDT! FDT! FDT!”
“I’m not doing this just for myself, we’re all doing this for all the undocumented people that we know; whether it’s our parents, our grandparents, friends, or whatever,” protester junior Abigail Garcia, said. “Most of us here [at San Gabriel] were born here, but we’re here to show we are the voice for the undocumented people who have been discarded and ignored. All of us here in high school, we’re adolescents, and people think our voices don’t matter.”
The protest occurred all throughout the school day, with an estimated total of about 150 students gathered on the front lawn of the school with police cars parked nearby. However, the students were not stopped by authorities because they were protesting on public property, the school. Students who left to protest were told that they will face consequences by campus supervisors before they exited San Gabriel’s premises. Punishments for these actions include being marked for an unexcused absence as per Principal Debbie Stone’s email to students and parents.
“The teachers and authorities told us they won’t stop us from protesting, so long as we’re staying safe and nothing gets out of hand; other than that, we are able to protest freely,” Garcia said.
The walk-out protest would end after school.
