Several hundred students at Juanita and Lake Washington high schools walked out of class in protest of the recent presidential election on Monday afternoon.
The Juanita students, more than 200, marched along 132nd Street to 100th Avenue before stopping just short of Safeway. The students carried signs and chanted messages to passing cars, cheering as drivers honked in support.
Several hundred Juanita High students out in protest this afternoon, chanting "@realDonaldTrump has got to go." pic.twitter.com/wdy43kSca3
— John William Howard (@JowardHoward) November 14, 2016
The protest came near the end of the school day for Juanita students, but skipping class bore the penalty of an unexcused absence and a phone call home, Juanita principal Gary Moed said.
The school — and Lake Washington School District — supports the students right to free speech and the right to assembly, Moed said, but has to abide by school policy.
Juanita junior Tamani Smart, who was among the organizers at Juanita High, said she had already talked the protest over with her mother.
“Our reason for marching is because there are so many people who felt so strongly about Donald Trump’s election,” said Smart, 16. “I just care about marginalized communities. People don’t give us a voice, but we are the future. That’s why I’m here today is to show that our lives matter.”
“We’ve seen, outside of our classrooms, people crying,” Smart said. “For me personally, I couldn’t stop crying. This is something that I knew people cared about, especially as we grow older. We have opinions too, you know?”
The march included more than Black Lives Matter, as students chanted about women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and rights for latinos and Muslims, in addition to an overall disapproval of President-elect Trump.
Juanita freshman Arwyn Antinoro, 14, carried a sign with the words, “Immigrant Lives Matter.”
“I think it’s important because, even if we’re not doing something, at least we put ourselves out there and show that it matters,” Antinoro said.
The protest at Lake Washington High also left campus as they went to Heritage Hall in downtown Kirkland. Dozens of LWHS students first gathered at the entrance to the school near NE 80th Street.
“Watching our country descend into this reign of bigotry was difficult to watch as someone who can’t vote,” sophomore Anna Captain, one of the walkout organizers, said.
Several students spoke at the rally, including seniors Reem Siddiqui and Grace Robinson, who wrote a poem titled “If We Don’t Speak Up.”
“We both feel really strongly about this election,” Siddiqui said of their inspiration to write the poem and share it with their fellow protestors.
Staff writer Catherine Krummey contributed to this story.
Juanita High School students walk down 132nd Street as part of a protest on Nov. 14. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
Lake Washington High students listen during a rally at the edge of campus on Nov. 14. CATHERINE KRUMMEY/Kirkland Reporter
Lake Washington High students call out to passing cars during a protest on Nov. 14. CATHERINE KRUMMEY/Kirkland Reporter
Juanita High School students walk down 132nd Street as part of a protest on Nov. 14. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
Juanita High School students walk down 132nd Street as part of a protest on Nov. 14. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
Juanita High junior Tamani Smart cheers during a student protest on Nov. 14. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
Juanita freshman Arwyn Antinoro holds a sign with the words, ‘Immigrant Lives Matter’ during a student protest on Nov. 14. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
Juanita High School students walk down 132nd Street as part of a protest on Nov. 14. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
