Hinesburg Community Students Walk Out
Dozens of seventh and eighth graders braved the cold to protest ICE and what has been happening in Minnesota and around the country.
The Record Staff
A handful of students organized a walkout at Hinesburg Community School (HCS) Friday afternoon to protest the way ICE is operating and to show solidarity with protestors around the country.
“We wanted to make a statement that kids are capable of a lot more than people think,” *Royal, an HCS eighth grader, told The Record. “No matter what your political opinion is, what [ICE is] doing is against the law and is unconstitutional. If you have any sense of decency, you know that it’s not right.”
The students got the idea the day before the planned national walkout, and they talked to a few friends about walking out of school as part of the protest. “They thought it was a good idea,” he said, so he talked to more students Friday morning and soon the idea gathered momentum.
During advisory (a relatively free block in the schedule) students made protest signs. They talked to their teachers. And around lunchtime, Royal said, he spoke with the principal, Tim Trevithick. “He told us that they legally were not allowed to support the protest, but we as students have the right to protest.”
Contrary to misinformation spread on Facebook after the event, teachers and staff did not encourage or urge the students to take part, students said. Royal said some students didn’t want to participate, and “I felt that was definitely understandable.” The teachers held a meeting with the students and emphasized that students were free to not participate. The staff did, however, urge the students to wear proper clothing if they were going to do it – the temperature was in the single digits.
At 2:20 p.m. at least 60 seventh and eighth graders bundled up, picked up their signs and stood along Route 116 to show their dismay at what was happening in Minnesota and elsewhere at the hands of ICE agents.
“I was blown away,” said Royal. “I thought we’d have 10, 15 people.”
Royal said that “90 percent” of the people who drove by the student protest honked in support, though there were a few, he said, who flipped the kids the bird as they went by.
Royal said he – and his friends – regularly follow the news and “I have a strong opinion about politics. But I’ve never done something like this before. It affected a lot of people and made a statement. … If there continues to be more bad stuff happening, it’s quite possible we’ll do something like this again.”
*Editor’s note: Given that several adults made obscene gestures at the students from their vehicles, given that there was considerable misinformation posted on Facebook about this protest and given that the quoted student’s mother was concerned about repercussions, The Record chose not to include the student’s full name.