Organizers of a walkout at W.F. West High School to protest the “unfair cruelty” of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents canceled their event on Wednesday, citing “district pushback” and a “possible backlash” if they were to continue as planned.
The protest, titled “W.F. West Ice Out WalkOut,” had been scheduled for Feb. 10, and came amid increased outrage following the recent deaths of 37-year-old Renée Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent, and 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.
Both killings occurred this month in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Good and Pretti were U.S. citizens.
“We are protesting against the unfair cruelty of ICE agents,” organizers wrote on Facebook Tuesday, Jan. 27. “We walkout after school and walk up to Dairy Dan’s and protest at 2:25 p.m. CSD is not responsible for any damages or injury during this walkout.”
An earlier post indicated the walkout had originally been planned for morning school hours.
Confusion regarding who was responsible for the event quickly spread across the community.
“It looks like the Lewis County Democrats WA are the ones responsible for putting this on and not the Chehalis School District,” Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope wrote on Facebook Tuesday evening. “No one from the school that I've talked to knows anything about it.”
Swope shared an image of a social media post from the local Democrat-led organization that referenced the protest and called on people to “bring speakers, posters, and signs to let ICE know they are not welcome here in Washington and what they are doing is not acceptable!”
That prompted Lewis County Democrats Chair Zac Eckstein to make his own statement: “Although we wholeheartedly agree with and will happily participate in the peaceful action planned by a group from WFW High School on 2/10, we are in no way involved in organizing it. That said, the implication that if we were involved, it would somehow be such a terrible plight to Chehalis that none other than a County Commissioner would feel it necessary to publicly warn his followers about it, is growing tiresome.”
Meanwhile, the owner of Dairy Dan’s stated they were unaware of the protest before the public posting and said they had called the police upon hearing the news. That prompted limited calls for a boycott from some community members, while Swope rallied the public to support the business in a post on Facebook.
On Wednesday, Chehalis School Board Director Kelsi Hamilton posted a video on Facebook, where she shared her personal thoughts about the protest.
“To my knowledge, this protest is not organized or endorsed by the Chehalis School District,” Hamilton said.
She added that it appeared the protest was being organized “outside the school day and on public property.”
“And while I’m not advocating for or against the topic of this protest, I do support the constitutional rights of the students to peacefully assemble and use their voices,” Hamilton said. “Whether I personally agree or disagree is not the issue. I support the use of democratic tools and processes that allow individuals to seek change.”
Hamilton said she hoped the community would honor those constitutional rights while also respectfully sharing differing viewpoints.
“We are a stronger society when we listen and learn from one another,” Hamilton said.
The district issued its own response about an hour later.
“We are aware of an event listing circulating that calls for a walkout of W.F. West High School students and staff in opposition to ICE,” the district stated. “Please note that neither the Chehalis School District nor W.F. West High School is involved in this event. We also have no knowledge of who is organizing it.”
Protest members, who consist of W.F. West students and faculty, according to their posts, also tried to make clear their independence from the district and any local businesses.
“Chehalis School District and Dairy Dan’s are not responsible for any damages/injuries that could occur at the protest,” organizers wrote on their Facebook event page. “There will be a police presence since we will be near a school.”
Wednesday evening, however, organizers said they were canceling the protest, and expressed a desire to “merge” with the next “No Kings” protest in Lewis County.
That protest is currently scheduled for March 28.
“The major reason why we are canceling ours is because of district pushback, and possible backlash if we continue,” the post reads. “It’s more safe for the public, and for us! Thank you to everybody who has stood by us while we figure out the details of this protest!”
Community members commented in support.
“I’m sorry to hear the district has stopped this from happening, but I'm glad you’re keeping yourselves safe,” one commenter wrote. “There are lots of places to make your voices heard.”
Thursday morning, organizers wrote that they would be creating a new page as requested by the high school, due to people thinking the district was endorsing the event.
That afternoon, the group, which had garnered 62 online followers, shared its new page, titled “IceOut Walkout.”
“This is the new page for the former W.F. West IceOut Walkout,” the about section reads.
As of presstime, organizers had yet to post to their new page.
Chehalis School District Superintendent Rick Goble explained the district’s position and provided further context in a statement issued Friday.
“I was alerted Wednesday evening about a social media post calling for a walkout of W.F. West High School students and staff in opposition to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” Goble wrote. “Whomever created the post gave the impression it came from the school district. It did not. Neither the Chehalis School District nor W.F. West High School faculty are involved in this event.”
After saying the district will not endorse the event, Goble acknowledged students were entitled to their opinions, but emphasized the district’s mission — as a non-political organization — is to provide a quality education for its students and to prepare them for a career and college.
“Our students and staff, just like all Americans, enjoy the Constitutional right of free expression,” Goble wrote. “That right does not include disrupting the school day or damaging district or private property.”
He continued, “District resources including the working time of our staff are public resources and they may not be used to promote outside events like the one posted earlier this week. If students or staff violated any laws or district policies during any kind of protest event during the school day, they would be subject to the same consequences that would apply in any other circumstance.”
“While I acknowledge the polarizing issues in our society and the diverse perspectives within our schools and community, my primary focus remains the success of our students,” Goble wrote, before concluding with a commitment to providing quality education and maintaining a calm and respectful environment.
Chehalis School Board President J. Vander Stoep told The Chronicle, “the district’s response here would be identical whether the protest was called pro- or anti-ICE.”
