Student walkouts to protest the presence of ICE and tactics used by federal immigration enforcement officers in American cities have become a common sight at high schools in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country.
From the city to the suburbs, students from Walnut Hills, Withrow, Western Hills, North College Hill, Sycamore, Princeton, Lakota East and West, and many more have organized walkouts in recent weeks to bring attention to an issue they say impacts their schools and communities.
Last week, students at Lakota East High School staged a protest during the school day, exiting the building to march along nearby streets, chanting anti-ICE slogans and holding handmade signs.
Leading the way was Lakota East senior Aida Ba. At first, she told WVXU she was uncertain if many of her classmates would join the demonstration, but within minutes, a crowd of students had assembled, ready to make their voices heard.
"I felt so hopeless. I thought nobody was going to do it, just out of fear of getting in trouble, but everyone must know, just because a law says something doesn't mean we should stick to that," Ba said.
The wave of walkouts has caused some to question the legality of the student-led demonstrations during class time and whether school leaders are endorsing the protests by allowing them to take place.
While Ba didn't seek permission from her principal, she did let school leaders know when and where the protest would occur. She says students were made aware of the potential consequences for walking out during school hours, but weren't threatened with a harsher punishment for participating in the anti-ICE demonstration.
"[Our principal] handled this in a respectful manner," she said. "Nobody was automatically put on punishment. We all knew the rules and still decided to come out."
Students have a ‘protected right’
David Carey, a managing legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, says K-12 students are well within their rights to organize protests on their campuses. While schools might have consequences for students missing or interrupting class, the First Amendment rights of students don't disappear when the first bell rings.
"If a student is not disrupting the school, if they're not interrupting school operations, they can engage in protests. They have a protected right to speech, and they do not have to ask permission for that," Carey told WVXU.
He adds that it's still a good idea for students to let their schools know about protests for their own safety and security.
"Sometimes it's a good idea not to surprise the school principal with some kind of large scale demostration. Let them know that you're planning to do that. Just as a practical matter, that can be a wise thing to do," Carey said.
Schools with a heads-up can provide security and some guidance for students protesting, especially if there's a chance of tensions boiling over.
While marching off-campus, Lakota East students briefly exchanged words with some adult bystanders who disagreed with their message and were circled by a small group of high school-age counter-protestors driving pickup trucks and waving a Thin Blue Line flag before eventually driving off.
Another Lakota East senior, Latrell Peterson, was unbothered by the opposition and was proud of his classmates for remaining peaceful during the situation.
"Everybody's got a voice, and everybody should speak it. It doesn't matter what people say about you," Peterson said. "If people laugh at you, alright, cool. But listen, you're always supposed to have your voice."
Carey advises parents of high school protestors who are concerned about their safety or retaliation from school leaders to look into their local school districts' policies. Sometimes, parents have more power over the situation than they think. For example, they can write a letter to their kid's school requesting permission for their student to leave class early to participate in a walkout.
"That may very well protect or insulate that student from punishment," he said.
It's also helpful for parents to remind their child that they could get in serious trouble for damaging property or breaking other laws, even in a large group.
On Wednesday, a student-led walkout at North College Hill High School took a dangerous turn after some students involved in the demonstration entered a nearby Kroger, according to police. A video shared on social media showed a large group of teenagers throwing objects inside the store before running out the front doors after an employee told them to leave.
In a statement, North College Hill Police said officers were present at the walkout to ensure the safety of students, staff and the public. They later responded to the incident at Kroger and are investigating the actions of some of the teenagers involved. The statement goes on to say that officers arrested two students who were a part of the protest but were wanted for a separate incident.
The superintendent of North College City Schools went on social media to condemn the behavior of the students involved.
"This video is disturbing and the parents and families of these students should be embarrassed," Superintendent Eugene Blalock wrote. "NCH City Schools will be working with the North College Hill Police Department to identify these students so they can be held accountable for their disorderly behavior."
In a later post responding to a Facebook comment accusing him of being responsible for the incident, Blalock said it was unfair to blame school leaders and teachers for what happened.
Though WVXU spoke to Carey before the incident in North College Hill was widely shared, he says school leaders have an obligation not to interfere with student protests, but when students break certain rules, schools also have an obligation to step in and discipline students.
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