More than 100 teenagers at Loudoun County’s Rock Ridge High School walked out of class in protest this afternoon. Several other walkouts were scheduled around the county. (Photo by Becky Little)
By DCist contributor Becky Little
Hours after parents and educators protested Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos during a visit to a D.C. middle school—which she was briefly blocked from entering—students at Rock Ridge High School in Loudoun County staged a walkout to protest both DeVos and President Donald Trump’s attempts to ban Muslim immigrants.
Similar walkouts—each ranging between 50 and 122 people—occurred at Potomac Falls, Briar Woods, Broad Run, and Loudoun Valley, according to LCPS Public Information Officer Wayde Byard. Nine other high schools had smaller walkouts of between one and twelve people.
But the walkout at Rock Ridge was the day’s biggest. At 2:30 p.m., just before the start of the last day’s class, approximately 200 Rock Ridge students of different races and religions peacefully walked out to the football stadium bleachers (disclosure: my mother works at the school).
Six women from immigrant families, three of whom are Muslim, made speeches in front of the cheering crowd, filled with signs like “No hate no fear,” and “America runs on immigration not only Dunkin.”
They told their fellow students that immigration makes America great, and that just because the travel ban was denied in court this week doesn’t mean that the fight against it and similar forms of discrimination is over. Some of the women spoke about their fear for their relatives overseas, who worried that they would not be able to come to the U.S.
The speakers also took on DeVos, arguing that she is not qualified to be secretary of education. Finally, the students told the crowd that, counter to what they may have heard and the eyerolls they might get from their parents, small demonstrations like this do matter.
After about half an hour, the speakers concluded the demonstration, and encouraged students to go back to class. They also thanked the administrators present for helping them plan the walkout.
Senior Darya Temeemi, who spoke at the demonstration, said that she first heard about the idea of a Loudoun County walkout when she saw Broad Run High School junior Rida Ali post about it on Twitter roughly a month ago.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be executed this flawlessly, she did a really great job,” Temeemi said. “Originally I think [the walkout] was supposed to be for the travel ban itself, and then also they decided that Betsy DeVos would be another additional thing that we would like to talk about and confront.”
A substantial number of students at Temeemi’s school are from immigrant families, and she said that she loves “the diversity at Rock Ridge.” Because a lot of her friends have family in other countries, many of them were upset when Trump passed his travel ban.
“I had a lot of fear as well because I have family abroad, I have family that lives in Baghdad,” she said, adding that she was worried by “the possibility that they couldn’t even come here because of their nationality.”
On Thursday, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) announced that high school principals were aware of a potential walkout, and had met with students organizing the walkout to develop “plans to ensure safety procedures are followed if students leave the building.”
Rock Ridge faculty and staff were in place around the school to safely direct participating students to the football stadium. They were told not to encourage or discourage students from leaving during the walkout, and teachers in class were instructed to take attendance.
Byard said that the students who had planned the demonstration were extremely respectful. Administrators told students that although there would be consequences for the students’ actions—they would receive the same discipline that a tardy or skipped class would earn them—the schools would not prohibit them from demonstrating.
This post has been updated with information about walkouts at other schools and a disclosure note.
