Students from Watkins Mill High School staged a walkout today, November 18, at 9am in an effort to protest the election of Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States.

The protest ended by around noon and many students returned to classes after.  In total, students walked approximately 5.5 miles.  Most took the bus or received rides back.

The students walked from the school to Lakeforest Mall, where they met up with another protest group from Gaithersburg High School and at 11am arrived at the Gaithersburg City Hall as a way to get their voices heard.

Some of the frequently used chants included: “Our voice matters,” “Not my President,” and “All lives matter.”

The Watkins Mill staff went to drastic measures to attempt to keep the students safe, even sending adults with the group. “I try to make it as safe as possible for them, so I have police, I have [administration], I have security all following them,” principal Carol Goddard added. 

Junior Aaron Dunkins headed the group coming from the Mill and said, “We’re meeting two other schools at Lakeforest, and we’re basically just going to try and make a statement.” Dunkins has been active in talking to the police and said the protest remained peaceful.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m trying to make a statement for… the unfair treatment that certain groups are getting because of who is president now,” Dunkins said.

Dunkins wants people to know that “People don’t understand that we are not afraid of Trump specifically, the fear comes from knowing a lot of Trump’s supporters are brave enough to belittle people for not being part of ‘white America.’”

“Just because I can’t vote doesn’t mean I don’t have a voice,” sophomore Taylor Dawson added.  “We know that we wouldn’t be able to get Trump out of office, but [the protests may help him] see how many people are being affected and change his ways, his actions and maybe his beliefs.”

While Goddard said that she initially worried that the protest would simply be a copy of the earlier protests this week in Montgomery County, she said that she spoke with Dunkins, who organized the protest to get a better feel for the motivation behind it. “She knew why she was going to go protest and articulated that really, really well,” Goddard said.  “It’s her right to assemble and protest, and so I just tried to make it as safe as possible for the kids that did want to go do that.”

Kehilat Shalom rabbi Charles Arian supported the WMHS protesters as they walked down Apple Ridge. “One of the things you hear from old folks like me is that kids do not care anymore,” Arian said. “The fact that young people are getting involved in making their voices head is really positive.”

Construction worker Raymond Morris had a less positive opinion as students passed him. “In my opinion, protesting really won’t do anything… I would rather [the protesters] stay in school [and] learn something,” Morris said.

Assistant principal Steve Orders went with the protesters to make sure that everything went smoothly and students remained safe. “I think it helps to have adults that are around, police that are around,” Orders said.  “People think a little differently sometimes when there’s police nearby than they would otherwise.”

“I understand the desire to go somewhere, to make it a dramatic movement,” Orders said. “That’s impressive because it shows a commitment to a cause, so I understand the desire to go a long distance.”

Gallery • 41 Photos

Ashleigh Kozo

Students gather at Lakeforest Mall as part of their anti-Trump protest