Diego Perez said Calhoun Middle School administrators sent word to his family earlier this week — if the eighth grader led a student walkout on Thursday afternoon, there would be consequences.
At 2 p.m. Perez and a group of his classmates gathered their signs, handfuls of cough drops to soothe strained throats, and their courage.
And then they walked out of the school, down Fulton Street to the North Texas Sticker Station on University Drive. They gathered on the sidewalk in front of the business and started chanting.
The students said it loud and clear, in English and in Spanish: They want Immigrations and Customs Enforcement out of Denton, and they want immigrants to stay.
Perez said he had to take the risk to protest and organize a walkout for his classmates. While his classmates agreed to be identified by their grade instead of their names — they worry about getting punished — Perez said: “You can use my name.”
“What’s currently happening with our own people, and a 5-year-old getting taken,” Diego said. “And people can’t speak up because they are scared. And we’re the only chance they have, for us to speak up.”
Diego said there is fear and anxiety about ICE officers coming to Denton, and some students are worried that officers might come into their school and detain students, especially Hispanic students.
Three eighth graders, two of whom are Black and another who is Asian, said they are scared that they or their friends might be used as “bait.” Two other students, who are white, said they were “disgusted” that ICE officials detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Minnesota.
Perez is an American citizen, and said he thinks politicians who have backed mass deportation have changed America.
“How it used to be, America is a beautiful dream,” he said. “But now it feels like a disaster.”
Student walkouts have been happening across the state, largely in response to the mass protests against ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This week, Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withdraw funding from schools that permit student walkouts and the Texas Education Agency warned that facilitating walkouts could lead to a state takeover.
On Thursday morning, Denton ISD sent a communication to Calhoun families and staff reiterating the expectation that students remain in class.
“When students leave school buildings or campuses without authorization, it creates a significant security risk,” the district said in an email that was signed “Denton ISD.”
“Campus staff cannot provide adequate supervision or ensure student wellbeing once they exit the school building,” the email said. “Leaving without permission compromises our ability to maintain a secure environment and account for every student’s location.”
The district said it values student voices, “However, walkouts and protests during instructional time violate the Denton ISD Student Code of Conduct. Students who choose to participate in an unauthorized walkout will face disciplinary consequences in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.”
District administration told the Denton Record-Chronicle that school leaders are focused on safety and learning.
“The safety and well-being of every student is our top priority,” reads a statement shared on Thursday evening. “When students leave campus without authorization during the school day, our ability to provide supervision and ensure their safety is compromised. ... The District remains focused on maintaining safe learning environments and ensuring uninterrupted instruction for all students.”
Students chanted and waved posters at traffic on University Drive. Some had the colors of the Mexican flag painted on their faces, and a few waved Mexican flags. They hoisted an American flag, and then turned it upside down, invoking a distress signal.
As the traffic sped up, slowed down and idled at the traffic light at Fulton Street and University Drive, some motorists engaged with the students.
Fists of every complexion appeared as windows rolled down. Drivers honked, gave a thumbs up or pumped a fist. As they shouted, “Show me what democracy looks like,” a man rolled down his window, held his horn down and shouted back: “This is what democracy looks like!”
Not everyone agreed with the students. More than one driver rolled down their windows with Vanilla Ice’s most popular song, “Ice Ice Baby,” blaring. Others gave a thumbs down and jeered.
At one point, a car full of men passed with the car door open. One of the men glared and gave a thumbs down. A few adults stepped reflexively toward the students.
A shirtless, barefoot man ran across the street from the students, brandishing a large Trump flag. The man eventually crossed the street and approached the students, but stopped short of the Denton police officer who blocked the far right lane of University Drive with his patrol vehicle. The officer stood next to the vehicle and kept watch over the students and the man with the flag.
The driver of one small sedan waited for the light to change, rolled down all four windows and turned up a song inspired by the musical Hamilton, ”Immigrants (We Get the Job Done).”
The 2016 version of hip-hop song assembled a global group of rappers to riff on the themes of the Broadway smash. And as the driver sat, smiling at the Calhoun students, a line by Puerto Rican rapper Residente thumped out: ”Somos como las plantas sin agua.” In English: We are like plants that grow without water.
One student, a young girl, never left her spot at the corner of Fulton and University. She had shouted herself hoarse, switching between English and Spanish. Finally, she stopped chanting, and shouted the words of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who used the time allotted for his Grammy acceptance speech for Album of the Year on Sunday to denounce ICE.
The student raised her protest sign and repeated Bad Bunny’s message, and his plea to fight hate with love.
“We are not savages!” the student shouted at the cars roaring by. “We are not animals! We’re not aliens! We are humans, and we are Americans!”
A horn blared by her.
“We are humans!” she yelled again. “We are Americans!”
LUCINDA BREEDING-GONZALES can be reached at 940-566-6877 and cbreeding@dentonrc.com.
