By: Lily Amback / News & Opinion editor
After everything that’s happened with ICE, many students are outraged.
Seniors Nate Hulet and Audrey Inskeep organized a student-led protest after school on Friday, Feb. 6.
For this event, Hulet and Inskeep made an Instagram profile named np.students.for.justice and started posting what they hoped to accomplish: an after-school protest led by students who want to advocate for what they believe in.
“The point of this protest was to push back injustice, not cut class,” Inskeep said. “This was student organized and in no cooperation with the school and we did not want to disrupt the school day.”
So, after school that day, attendees met in the auditorium. When everyone was ready, they walked out in the bitter cold to advocate for what they believed in. Hulet and Inskeep weren’t expecting a big turnout, but when the auditorium started filling up, they were very pleased.
“We didn’t expect many people to show up. We only knew of close friends that would show up,” Hulet said.
Even with the huge turnout, they were still concerned about repercussions in the community.
“We were expecting a lot of backlash. Online we had students, parents, and community members sharing hateful comments and opinions on the protest,” Inskeep said. “We knew people were going to judge us, but we were equally aware that choosing to organize a protest would trigger that response.”
To their pleasant surprise, there were only two people who caused trouble during the protest.
“Other than online accounts antagonizing us and two counter-protesters yelling profanity and making vulgar statements towards the students, the protest went great. The local police were very helpful in protecting us and there were many supporters driving by in their cars,” Hulet said.
The group of protestors went up and down the main road in front of the school a couple of times through the snow, as the sidewalks were not yet cleared off.
“We walked from the school, down to the intersection of Gem Road and 52, stood there for a while, then walked through the snow back to the museum area. Then, we gave people the opportunity to share a personal testimony or reason why they were here,” Hulet said. “It was a very special experience and lasted about an hour.”
Hulet and Inskeep knew that this was a topic very close to their, and other’s, hearts, and hoped this protest made an impact, no matter how small, in the New Pal community.
“Many of my family-friends have been victims of the immigration system’s current errors. And I care too deeply about this country and its fundamental ideals to simply stand idly by and witness our current administration throw it all away,” Hulet said. “We saw many other high schools doing similar things, and thought, “if we don’t do something, who will?”