Leyden School District 212 officials said they met with about 32 students on Friday afternoon at West Leyden High School after some students considered staging a walkout protest over concerns about Donald Trump’s recent victory in the presidential race.
Officials said that there was no walkout.
On Thursday, officials had issued a “talk rather than walk” invitation to the students, asking them to meet at the auditorium, Supt. Nick Polyak said.
The idea is “to have a conversation rather than walk” and find other constructive outlets over concerns about the new Trump administration, he said.
Tatiana Bonuma, principal at West Leyden, said the meeting with students began at 2:40 p.m. on Friday and lasted for about half an hour. She said she led the meeting alongside a dean.
“It was a very good day,” Bonuma said. “We had seen on social media that some of our students were starting a conversation earlier in the week about a walkout. A lot of it was a result of what they’d seen on social media and media elsewhere. We offered the opportunity at the end of the day that instead of having a walkout to have a meeting about what they were trying to walk out for. … We had a chance to speak to some of them in small groups and hear where they were coming from. We did not have a walkout in the building. They did not engage in that this week.”
At the District 212 board meeting Wednesday night, Noelle Lowther and Vanessa Gallegos, the student representatives on the board, talked about concerns at the schools following Trump’s surprising election. Both schools have strong Hispanic makeup, according to their 2016 Illinois School Report Cards — 81.3 percent at West Leyden, at 1000 N. Wolf Road, in Northlake, and 50.3 percent at East Leyden, 3400 Rose St., in Franklin Park.
During the campaign, the president-elect preached a hardline immigration plan, including a plan to deport illegal immigrants and build a wall along the country’s southern border. Loether said some students, expressing concern about the future, had talked about a walkout protest and “asking me whether I could cancel school,” she told the board in her report.
Gallegos, who is Hispanic, described students as “a little bit sad” and worried about their families with Trump’s election.
In one case, “a person ran up to me — I didn’t even talk to her — and said ‘well, I’m going to miss you,’ ” she told board members of the mood.
“I will say that I do admire that my classmates are willing to make a stand,” Gallegos said in response to a question, “but I’m not sure how effective a walkout would be at the moment. The students acknowledge that a walkout won’t kick Donald Trump out of office, but they believe protesting will give them a voice to show they won’t stand with Trump’s beliefs. Since Leyden is a very diverse school, with many kids from different minority groups, some students have grown worried and emotional after Donald Trump’s election for fear of what their future holds.”
“There are also students that are pleased with president-elect, Donald Trump, and have voiced their opinion openly over social media,” she added.
At the board meeting, Polyak thanked the students for bringing up the issue. He said school officials were looking for ways of offering reassurance to students who air concerns while also giving them “a productive outlet to have that conversation.”
He acknowledged the sentiment behind a walkout such as students have staged in schools in different parts of the country “but if we can find a more productive way for folks to have that conversation” that would be the district’s preference.
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After Friday’s meeting, Bonuma “the intent was to provide a place for them to bring concerns and start conversations.”
“Most of the things they are concerned about are beyond our control,” she said. “It’s mostly providing students a place to have these conversations. One of the things I talked to them about was reminding them about actions and that for everything they do and say there is reaction. … Be mindful of their words and mindful of their actions. The students I think are, you know, internalizing a lot of things and thinking a lot about what’s going on and [making] sense of the week and all the events that took place this week from their angle and perception.”
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. Pioneer Press staff contributed