With Donald Trump’s administration taking charge in January, major changes are happening in our daily lives. Here at Channel Islands High School, students have taken a stand to speak about some of the Trump administration’s new orders.
On Jan. 20, President Trump signed an executive order called “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” The executive order claims the purpose was to undo the “unprecedented flood of illegal immigration into the United States” that occurred during the Biden-Harris presidency, according to the White House online page.
On Friday, Jan. 31, students from the Oxnard Union High School District staged a walkout district wide to protest the recent raids and the sight of ICE in their community due to the executive order signed a week before.
The walk-out took place during students’ first period and continued until the end of the day. Students protested at the intersection of Channel Islands Boulevard and Rose Avenue, and Channel Islands students were later joined by students from Hueneme High School. Those who did not wish to leave school but still wanted to participate could sit in the school’s gymnasium and express their opinions with classmates.
Teachers at CI received emails from the school’s administration advising them of the planned walkout. The emails included the expected time students would walk out, along with being told that if their students did decide to walk out, they should allow them to do so.
Channel Islands senior Brittany Fuentes participated in the student protest. “I personally love the fact that students are participating in engaging activities such as protests and boycotting,” she said. “It is so motivating and heartwarming seeing how much kids care about things going on in the present day that affect such a big part of our community.”
This seems to be the sentiment shared by other students who participated that Friday.
Julian James DeLara claims the reason he participated that Friday was because he knew many might not participate out of fear, but “even one small person can mean a lot, especially if it’s a group of people standing up for one another. Always stand up for what you believe in.”
Friction is consistent; as Homeland Security reported just last month that they were able to detain around 32,000 people within 50 days of the Trump presidency, this being around the same number of people detained in the entirety of last year under the Biden administration, according to their website.
Tensions grow and sentiments become louder as more nationwide protests spark, yet students here at the Islands showed on Jan. 31 that they will use their voice for what they believe is right and do their best to support those in their community.
