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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Close to 300 students walked out of Albemarle County High School Friday morning in a protest against ICE actions across the nation.
The students left from school property just before 11 a.m., carrying signs and chanting as they marched down Hydraulic Ave., then turned onto Route 29 and made their way to the new pedestrian bridge. As the students walked, cars honked their horns and trucks sounded their air horns in displays of support.
“I am out here today because the things that ICE have been doing are absolutely disgusting,” ACHS senior Theseus Fulgham, one of the event’s organizers, told Cville Right Now. “They’ve been destroying our country and inciting fear into the hearts of anyone who isn’t white or white passing. Which is especially horrible because this country was built on immigrants. It’s just something that needs to be changed.”
Fulgham said planning for the event began Wednesday and the turnout exceeded her expectations. She said her group and another one were simultaneously planning the same walk-out style protest and the two groups combined their efforts.
People along the route came out of their homes and businesses to cheer on the students. One man, standing alone in a parking lot, spent over 20 minutes repeating, “Thank you,” and “We love you,” until all the student marchers had passed.
School staff and Albemarle County Police were stationed along the route to ensure the students safety, and volunteer from Indivisible Charlottesville also worked the route.
ACPS spokesperson Jason Grant said the school district was aware in advance that a walkout was possible. He said that students who leave campus without permission would be in violation of the attendance policy and those walking out would be treated as a standard unexcused absence. He said students who signed out before leaving could be granted an excused absence, in accordance with Virginia law.
“No teachers or staff are organizing this,” Grant said. “They’re not to participate in this.”
As the students approached the Shops at Stonefield, they found cases of bottled water that had been left for them.
Just shy of noon, the group began to walk back toward the high school.
Grant said students returning to school would need to go through security screenings again, as they do when they arrive in the morning.
On Thursday, ACPS sent an email to parents asking them to remind their children that students are expected to remain on school campuses through the entirety of the school day. It suggested speaking with school principals to facilitate any organized protests.
“We recognize that students care deeply about issues affecting our community and our nation,” the email said. “Civic engagement is an important part of democratic life, and we value student expression of their perspectives and lived realities. At the same time, we are responsible for ensuring student safety and minimizing disruptions to instruction.”
A similar protest at Monticello High School attracted about 100 students Friday, a source told Cville Right Now.
On Monday, hundreds of students from Charlottesville High School walked out and marched along John Warner Parkway to protest the actions of ICE agents nationwide.
Charlottesville Police posted a community advisory about the protest to its Facebook page and is now investigating potential threats left in the comment section.
