What was meant to be a peaceful student walkout to protest immigration enforcement quickly turned hostile as adults — on both sides of the political aisle — clashed with students of Prairie High School on the sidewalks and business parking lots at the intersection of state Route 503 and Northeast 119th Street on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
The student-led walkout, not sanctioned by the Battle Ground Public Schools District, was organized in correlation with a national movement to protest actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the Trump administration a year since Inauguration Day.
As the student participants of Prairie High School left school grounds out into the public eye, they were quickly met with a small team of pro-ICE opposition, who ultimately were involved in numerous altercations — verbally and physically — with one incident leading to the arrest of a student-aged male.
Prairie High School student Aubrey Grier, who co-organized the walkout with fellow student Chloe Baldwin, said the events that unfolded were unprecedented locally, but did not take away from the message of the walkout.
“There were definitely agitators out there that were looking for a fight or looking for somebody to slip up, and I do feel like that is rather immature, especially because a lot of these were grown adults with families,” Grier said. “And I do feel like high schoolers have the capacity to react rather strongly to situations and not understand the weight and gravity of things.”
The student walkout involved an estimated 150 to 200 Prairie High School students, with many staying beyond the slated timeframe of the demonstration. Physical altercations, some between adults and students, warranted a response by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, while some demonstrators entered the roadway, leading to a four-trooper response by the Washington State Patrol to monitor the protest.
Grier added that while students gathered at the starting point of the walkout, she relayed an important message to the participants.
“Which is why, before we went off campus, I made sure to establish the fact that our security officers and our administration are not able to mitigate our actions and our decisions outside of campus,” she said. “Because once we get past those tennis courts, we’re not Prairie High School students, we’re just community members. So I wanted to make sure beforehand that I told everybody that it’s important to not be reactive in situations like this, because it holds a lot more weight. You’re not just going to get suspended or expelled, you’re going to have a criminal record.”
After the school day was over, despite no direct involvement, the Battle Ground Public Schools District administration sent a statement to parents of students regarding the walkouts, which also occurred at other schools in the district.
“We are writing to update you on a student walkout that took place earlier today. The walkout was organized and led by Prairie students in alignment with a national event,” the district email stated. “It was not organized or sponsored by Prairie staff or the district. Instruction continued throughout the day and unexcused absences were recorded. Staff provided safety supervision on campus only. As always, staff do not supervise students who choose to leave school for activities that are not school sponsored. Local law enforcement monitored the activity off campus. We acknowledge students’ constitutional right to advocate for causes that are important to them and respect that our school communities collectively hold a variety of perspectives on issues. Our focus remains on maintaining a safe, respectful learning environment for all students. If your child needs support, please reach out to their school.”
Grier confirmed that no staff members had involvement with organizing or partaking in the walkout.
“There was absolutely no sort of intervention from the district or from school administration; no support from staff,” Grier said.
Grier believed there was a good portion of students who might have not been there for the right reasons, but she said the students that were there to exercise their constitutional right for advocacy on the cause outweighed the unruliness.
Grier expressed displeasure the following day as she said she has read many community members’ social media comments and posts that stated concerns students are not affected by immigration enforcement and should have remained in class.
“We have to set a precedent and a message to the federal government, on a nationwide scale, not just in Clark County, that our kids are not OK with this,” Grier said. “This isn’t just an adult issue because it’s impacting families. Because if you go home from school and your dad is gone and you have no idea what happened to him, that’s not just an adult issue anymore because that will leave lasting trauma for many, many kids. And it has for many kids at Prairie and many kids at Heritage, as well as other schools in our area and across the country.”
Grier, as well as a student participant of the walkout, both stated they know of Prairie High School students who have had family members detained or arrested by ICE agents.
“There’s actually substance behind this because it’s impacting real people at our school,” Grier said.
