On March 5, hundreds of students at Fossil Ridge High School marched out of class at approximately 11:30 a.m. to protest the actions of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This protest follows several carried out by students at schools in the Fort Collins area, and hundreds more across the country.
While this was not a school-administrated protest, Fossil Principal Mark Barry and administrators laid out regulations and safety guidelines to the students as they flooded the front courtyard. A few minutes later, the protest officially began.
Students walked a round trip of close to four miles, carrying signs reading, “History repeats if we stay silent,” “Migration is natural,” and “Immigrants built America.”
As students of a culturally diverse school, many protesters attended out of pride and representation of their heritage.
“For me, this protest is about my family. I have a lot of Mexican family and the idea that they could get racially profiled and sent away…is a horrible thought to think about,” said senior Alyson Toth. “I’m so glad that these students are taking a stand and that they can see that we are all human, and how important that is.”
For others, the protest was an expression of outrage.
“I hope [this protest] conveys to the government that its citizens are fed up with its tyranny,” said senior Coral Rogge.
While most were there rallying against ICE, a few students could be seen carrying out a form of a counter-protest in support of ICE, marching separately from the large crowd, wearing cowboy hats and carrying an American flag.
“I think [the protest] is a whole bunch of people who don’t know exactly what they’re talking about…most of them don’t even know the facts,” said sophomore Taren Gregson. “We’re America first…there is a group of people who wants to fight back against these protesters.”
Despite differences in opinions, students remained respectful and peaceful throughout the entire demonstration.
To see more on this protest, visit @fossil.news on Instagram.
