On Tuesday, Jan. 20, nearly 60 Rock Ridge students joined the Free America Walkout by organizing their own individual walkout. Rock Ridge was one of 13 schools in LCPS to conduct a walkout.  

The walkout, which was organized by senior Sahasra Daggu, freshman Randy Prather, freshman Sydney Gray, and senior Mimtaaha Syeda Kader, brought together 58 students in the main gym, where they gave speeches about the impacts of ICE. 

The nationwide walkout, which was organized by the Woman’s March group, was originally supposed to be at 2 p.m. However, due to cold weather the speakers and Principal John Duellman coordinated to move the Rock Ridge walkout indoors. The students assembled at 10:58 a.m. and the protest lasted for 13 minutes.

The walkout started with Daggu and Erather speaking about the importance of bringing awareness to the practices of ICE. “We’re here today because we believe in a simple truth,” Erather said. “No human being is illegal. Every person, regardless of where they were born or how they got here, deserves to live a life free from the shadow of fear. We aren’t here to skip class. We’re here to demand a world where a person’s worth isn’t defined by a zip code or passport.”

Following Erather, Gray spoke of her interactions with ICE, focusing on how it has affected the lives of many close to her. “I grew up thinking that everyone was equal, but as time went on, I realized that wasn’t the truth,” Gray said. “People talk about immigration like it’s just numbers, laws, or headlines, but for me it has a face, it has a name, and it has a voice that I don’t get to hear anymore. My friend was one of those people. She did everything, [yet] she was still sent away, but she is not an isolated case. She’s one person in the system that is moving overwhelmingly fast and leaving unenacted consequences upon others. [Now] my 15-year-old cousin has to carry her passport everywhere she goes, just in case someone questions her. Imagine a child having to live like that, growing up with constant fear that [they] can disappear from your life at any moment.”

To end the walkout, Kader reiterated what she believed America was meant to be. “We say this country is for the free, for the American dream,” Kader said. “But if we detain, harm, and kill innocents, this country isn’t for the free; it isn’t for the American dream, [especially] when people are forced into unreasonable, penal solitary confinement, which is, in short, torture.”

Many students within the audience resonated with the messages presented. Some, like sophomore Mimi Spruell, resonated with how ICE is targeting those close to them. “[ICE] makes me feel bad, [but] more so worried, especially at this school,” Spruell said. “One of the reasons why I preferred this school over my homeschool, Independence, [is] because there was not a lot of diversity at Independence. [When] I came here, [there were] so many different ethnicities and cultures. The fact that ICE is targeting those immigrants or people whose parents [are from those cultures] worries [me], because a lot of my friend group is multicultural. It’s not a matter of fact of if they came here illegally or not; it’s more of a fact of their ethnicity.”

Others, like senior Suha Nalluri, agreed with speaker Kader on how ICE conducts harmful apprehensions. “[ICE] can’t go around killing [people] and denying them basic amenities and basic human rights, like health care and food and things like that,” Nalluri said. “That’s why it’s really important to speak up because this country was built by and for immigrants. It’s important to support our brothers and sisters in this cause.”

The walkout was held with the help and support of Duellman, but it didn’t mean that the walkout was without expectations. “[When a] group of students approach me and ask about the possibility of a walkout, I cover with them school board policy, their rights and responsibilities, and my expectations for how things should go,” Duellman said. “This [meant] no signage, no banners, no disruptions, no hate speech; nothing that is going to take away from what students are attempting to do.”

These regulations fall under school board Policy 8273, which outlines the rights and responsibilities of student demonstrations. This would not only protect the learning environment but also other students, faculty, and everyone’s First Amendment rights of free speech. 

Virginia is currently ranked sixth in ICE arrests, with over 6,600 arrests being made in the state in the last year. Students saw the event as a place to raise awareness to those around them, from friends and family to even to those at the federal level. “If we don’t speak up and we remain silent, that gives the administration the encouragement to continue this behavior even when it breaks some amendments,” senior Navya Madasu said. “Some people just aren’t aware of their rights, unfortunately, before getting arrested or detained by ICE.”

Some saw this as a way to increase the amount of youth speaking for causes they support. “Even just a little change can make a really huge impact, and I think it’s really important that us, as students, come together,” Spruell said. “A lot of people think that just because we’re minors and students that our voices don’t need to be heard, but that’s wrong. Our voices need to be heard. We can have an impact. We’re seen as something to control and told to behave, [but that’s wrong], and I think that us stepping out and showing that even the youth [are] getting involved is important.”

This article previously named Randy Prather as Randy Erather. An updated version of the article has been published.