A crowd of students gathered outside Edmond Memorial High School on Feb. 6, missing several classes in protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Beginning around 10:30 a.m., students walked out of their classes and met outside the school’s Welcome Center, walking along 15th Street for several hours during the school day. 

The walkout was entirely student-led, mainly promoted through social media a few days before it was scheduled. Word of the walkout spread quickly throughout the school, resulting in a large gathering of protesters outside of Memorial.

Some students at Memorial strongly oppose ICE, citing increased violence and deportations against immigrant communities in the United States. Some protesters claimed they felt the need to speak out for the immigrants in their neighborhoods and school. 

“This is very close to home for me,” sophomore Cooper Hathaway said. “I feel that I need to be here to represent the people who cannot speak for themselves.”

Students from all grade levels flooded the sidewalk, gathering attention from passing cars and pedestrians. Cars passing by either showed support by honking or disapproval by giving the protesters a thumbs-down. 

The protest even caught the attention of two counterprotesters who marched on the opposite side of the street, waving American flags.

“I heard about this protest by my friend showing me this post,” sophomore counterprotestor Hunter Miller said. “I thought, ‘How can people protest based off of sole emotion?’ . . . The opposing walkout was important to me because it needed someone to stand up for what’s right, even if [they’re] gonna face backlash, and bring the old America back.”

Despite the counterprotest, students were not deterred. Protesters chanted and carried homemade signs with anti-ICE and pro-immigrant slogans like “No one is illegal on stolen land,” “ICE out” and “I’m missing my lessons to teach you one!” Colton Anderson, a junior who attended the protest, made a homemade sign that read, “Caring about people is not political.”

“Regardless of who you are, I think it’s reasonable to care for everybody and ensure they’re all safe,” Anderson said. “That goes for all types of people.” 

Memorial’s protest was part of a wider effort against ICE and anti-immigrant sentiment throughout the United States. Other high schools in Oklahoma also had protests in the past week, including Jenks High School and Mustang High School, each of which mirrored nationwide protests against recent ICE activity. 

“We are the next generation, and we need to raise our voices,” Hathaway said. “I may not be the president, but I can make small differences. We need to do what we can.”

Contact Emma Lynch at [email protected]