\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake?<\/p>\n
Students from multiple Fresno Unified schools continued to protest against ICE and the Trump Administration, with students from high schools and middle schools travelling downtown on Tuesday to demonstrate.<\/p>\n
Students from multiple Fresno Unified schools walked out of school Tuesday afternoon, converging on City Hall in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n
According to a student interviewed by Fresnoland, the walkout was organized through an Instagram post that included the names of more than 15 middle schools and high schools.<\/p>\n
Martha C., a high school junior, took part in the downtown protest. She and three of her peers from Duncan Polytechnical High School caught a central Fresno bus and made their way to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office on L Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like everyone has to support each other, because, at the end of the day, we\u2019re all the same,\u201d Martha said. \u201cWe all bleed the same color, no matter what race, what color, anything about anything, you should step up and speak up and help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jocelyn V. a junior from Duncan who joined Martha, said they participated to peacefully protest against the Trump Administration and ICE.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people say that not everything is about politics, but I feel that when it affects us as humans, it [is] and we all are getting affected equally,\u201d Jocelyn told Fresnoland.<\/p>\n
Both students from Duncan asked to have their last names withheld, citing concerns over retaliation from school administrators.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just immigrants, we\u2019ve even seen that US citizens have been taken, they\u2019ve been kidnapped, they\u2019ve been killed,\u201d Jocelyn said. \u201dThat\u2019s not right, and if we don\u2019t take a stand, then the power is going to stay in the wrong hands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Payton Vongsak, a protester from Roosevelt High School, said he also became aware of the protest from the Instagram post.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came out with all the Fresno schools to protest against ICE,\u201d Vongsak told Fresnoland.<\/p>\n
All students interviewed by Fresnoland explained that at some point during the walkout, students congregated at a bank near the ICE office in Fresno and began throwing items at the building. At some point, multiple protesters said, there was a brief confrontation between students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0 Lt. Larry Bowlan, Fresno police briefly detained some students in connection with the altercation, but no arrests were made.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, a few students from two different middle schools got into a verbal confrontation and officers separated and detained a couple of the involved juveniles and had their parents come pick them up,\u201d Bowlan said via text.<\/p>\n
The recent surge of student walkouts has become a dilemma for school districts in Fresno County.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 7, a joint statement from multiple Fresno County school district superintendents <\/a>called for parents and guardians to speak with students about safety risks associated with protests.<\/p>\n Moreover, the letter encouraged parents and students to notify schools about a student\u2019s absence from school if they are planning on protesting.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen students leave without following these procedures, the absence is recorded as unexcused,\u201d the letter stated. \u201cCalifornia law recognizes students\u2019 right to participate in civic action by allowing only one excused absence per year for this purpose, provided families notify schools in advance and follow standard checkout procedures. We want to honor that right while ensuring safety.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter was signed by Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Michele Cantwell-Copher, along with the superintendents of Fresno, Clovis, Central, Golden Plains, Kerman, Parlier, Sanger, Selma, Washington and Westside Elementary Unified.<\/p>\n The steady stream of local student protests and campus walkouts in recent weeks drew criticism earlier Tuesday from Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld<\/a>, who said large numbers of students continuously leaving campuses created safety issues.<\/p>\n