Over 100 students walked out during lunch as part of a nationwide strike to protest recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) yesterday.
The demonstrations follow nationwide outrage after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Students congregated on Davis Field at 11:10 a.m., where senior organizer Elie Ahluwalia gave a short speech framing the walkout as a protest against ICE’s violent tactics. The group then walked towards the Shah parking lot, ultimately congregating near the edge of the street but staying on campus to avoid disciplinary consequences.
“The people in our community who may be or may know families who live in fear of being deported — know that you have support here at Harker,” Elie said. “My dad wears a turban. At this school, where we have so many people of color, what ICE is doing is something we should all stand up against.”
Elie, along with seniors Pavith Khara and Syna Sharma, began planning the walkout in the morning. During first and fourth period, the three created paper posters and began to spread the word both in-person and digitally.
An Instagram story originally posted by Elie and reposted by other students read: “Walkout during lunch. Meet on Davis Field. Make signs this morning. You don’t have to miss class if you don’t want. Spread the word and there are power in numbers.” Student organizers also spread a text message to group chats that read: “We need to show up for the kids here who know people who are in danger of being deported. Spread the word, if enough people come everything will be ok.”
The three organizers notified administration about the walkout. Before the walkout at around 10 a.m., Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Patricia Burrows provided speakers and a mic, advising all attending students about safely demonstrating on Davis Field. Head of Upper School Paul Barsky informed the students that though their voices were heard, the school would still uphold closed-campus policies and put in place necessary guidelines. He reminded students that they would face detentions or Saturday Fives if they missed class.
“The school can’t support protests because then we’d be taking sides,” Barsky said. “What we can support are avenues for students to make sure their voices are heard. We believe in civil discourse, so we have to be very mindful of making sure we are not choosing one protest over another or one cause over another. We leave it to kids to make educated choices.”
At 10:48 a.m., Barsky posted a Schoology announcement explaining that students would be unable to leave campus without incurring consequences: “If school policies are broken as per our handbook (for example, cutting class or arriving late back to class, or leaving campus), there will be consequences not as a response to thoughtful ideas, but to ensure the smooth running of our school community.”
Barsky appreciated student willingness to communicate with administration, emphasizing his focus on student safety.
“I want the focus not to be on any sort of tension with the school, but on whatever the message the kids want to get out,” Barsky said. “My goal is to make sure that the school community runs safely and securely while kids also have an opportunity to voice their thoughts. My primary concern was that Saratoga is a very, very busy intersection.”
Senior Savitha Satish felt it was especially important and timely for her to speak up as a child of immigrants.
“I came to the walkout today because I believe in bravery and I believe in speaking out for what is important,” Savitha said. “This is a time more than ever that we need to make our voices heard, especially in Harker, where almost 90% of us come from immigrant families. This is the most relevant protest for our school today.”
A student, who requested anonymity due to concerns about privacy, felt the turnout was surprising and thought the walkout affirmed students’ values.
“It’s important that we get Harker’s attention and we tell them what really matters to us,” the student said. “I wasn’t expecting it to make it past the field, but no one’s stopped us and in fact a lot of teachers are here to support us.”
Students began to disperse and head back to campus for class after lunch ended at 11:55 a.m. Twelve students continued protesting into second period, and the demonstration concluded at 12:17 p.m. once these students went to class.
Senior Ryder Hewitt noted the presence of ICE in his residential neighborhood, citing the agency’s impact on many of the neighbors with whom he grew up. While he praised the demonstration, he reflected that the Harker community must take a bolder stand for real change to occur.
“Protesting only when it’s most convenient is not how change happens,” Ryder said. “Obviously, I’m grateful for and supportive of the people today. But our community is not doing enough. The majority of people here go back to very affluent lives and don’t have to worry about the day-to-day struggles of the people they’re protesting for. We have all this money, all this funding but we don’t dedicate enough of it to the people we claim we want to support.”
