WESS Walkout

“We’re protesting not against something, but for something. Just to show that even though we’re in high school… we do care about these issues,” said Ryan, a protestor and WESS junior.  

On Friday, May 29th, roughly thirty students from West End Secondary School streamed out of their classrooms and took the train all the way down to Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. Carrying posters and decked out in red, white, and blue, they joined hundreds of other students from various schools across the city in a protest.

On their website, We The Students, the organizers behind the protest, describe themselves as a “nonpartisan national coalition of politically engaged students dedicated to upholding the principles of the United States Constitution.” They largely organized and promoted the protest through Instagram, urging NYC teens in one post to tell friends to walk out, “against Trump’s attacks on our constitutions and our communities.”

“I believe that it’s important to stand up for what you believe in. And it’s important to use your voice. Especially for people who maybe don’t feel like they have the power to stand up for themselves,” explained Sadie Alvarez, WESS’ school council president-elect. She is one the captains for WESS’s branch of We the Students, along with Ginny Sanborn and Nora Kosta-Cetin.

Ahead of the protest, Sadie joined meetings with We The Students and helped run the WESS branch’s Instagram page. In her eyes, the best outcome for the protest would be to “spread awareness and get people more interested and feel like they can make a difference and feel like they can contribute to our country and our democracy.”

On the day of the protests, WESS student organizers led a group out of the school building to Foley Park where they were joined by fellow students from schools such as La Guardia, Stuyvesant, High School of Art and Design, Brooklyn High School of the Arts, NYC Museum School of Art. 

At the center of the square, where many organizers were standing, was a hand painted sign reading, “We the Students Stand Against Fear United”. Students carried homemade posters with various slogans such as “Veto the Cheeto,” “Empathy Over Empire,” and “The eggs are expensive because the chickens are in office.” One student was dressed in a stars-and-stripes-themed Uncle Sam outfit. Another had the words “ICE OUT” written in black marker on his bare back. 

Despite the protest having a national cause, the issues seemed to also have local relevance. 

“Now there’s even ICE in New York City kicking people out and I have tons of friends that could have their lives ruined because of that,” said Maddox, a sophomore from Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts (RepCo).

As Ona, a fellow sophomore from RepCo explained, “We go to school in Times Square, so a lot of time ICE will be, like, around our school.” She says protests like the one she was currently at had helped get teachers involved in making sure students got home safely after school. 

Students had various reasons for coming out. Similar to Ona, many explained wanting to send a message not just to elected officials but other citizens and the general public. Willow, from Brookyln High School of the Art, described wanting to inspire family in other parts of the country. Others such as Maddox and Lucy, a WESS Junior, felt that coming together could signal in to others how many people truly believed in their cause.

“We’re protesting not against something, but for something,” said Ryan, a junior from WESS. “Just to show that even though we’re in high school… we do care about these issues.” He also stressed that as someone under the age of eighteen, he hoped the protest would influence those who could vote to go out and do so, adding that, “By voting and by exercising that freedom, that is how real change in the government is going to happen.”