Let me preface this piece by saying that what follows is not a political statement, and I have full respect
for the students who organized and are genuinely, deeply invested in this movement.
Last week at Costa, students walked out of school after third period to protest ICE. In my experience, it seems to me like our school is split roughly 60/40 politically. However, a majority of our school is unlikely to have already formed their beliefs political beliefs at all.
And yet, when I walked into class in fourth period, the seats were empty: There were maybe five total people in a class that usually has over thirty students. It seemed odd that over eighty percent of students in my class weren’t present, then I realized, my class also wasn’t an outlier. The entire school was empty.
It seemed like there were three types of people who walked out last
week: Those who genuinely cared and supported the movement, those who blindly wanted to be a part of something for a sense of belonging, and those who simply wanted to get out of class. The latter two groups are the reason I am concerned.
It is apparent that the ones whom use this to leave school are just taking advantage of a situation, but, it is clear that they are not who or what this protest was intended for. I heard two very conservative students insult those who wanted to march, calling the movement stupid and claiming that ICE’s operations are currently warranted. And yet, those two students were nowhere to be found after third period. As for the other group, I believe belonging and understanding are not the same thing. If you ask many of those who walked out a simple question, such as, did ICE exist before this administration? Many of them would not know.
The policies that are being protested did not just appear out of thin air. However, I have personally met many people who do just echo headlines in the media they consume, yearning to support those they know or hear for a sense of belonging.
Context like that is not at all a detail that should be ignored, yet many are still mindlessly marching on the streets.
To be clear once again, these strong words are not a shot at anyone who showed up to the march with genuine conviction. There are many, whom I have met, who strongly care, understand, research, and support the movement.
Their devotion is obvious and it’s pretty transparent who has validity in their advocacy.
I say all that to say this: performative participation has a real cost.
Movements start to look unfocused and lose credibility with the same people they are trying to convince.
Social media videos have gone viral, with political content creators quizzing protestors on the various is-
sues they are rallying against, exposing them for not having basic knowledge about the protests they attend.
Currently as a student journalist, I feel that my duty is to give readers the information they need to form a real opinion, rather than a borrowed one. There is immense potential in those who blindly participated, they just have not unlocked it yet.
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