SALT LAKE COUNTY, Nov. 11, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — More than a thousand students from the Granite School District walked out of class late Friday morning on a mission to protest the Tuesday election that will make Donald Trump America’s next president.
“Its just really good to see how the community of all different races came together,” said Hunter High student Dakota Kelley, 18, when Gephardt Daily caught up with him later Friday afternoon at the Utah State Capitol.
“That’s what we’re trying to spread — that we all want to be united.”
“Other youth around the nation can realize that we’re the future of this nation, and we’ll stand together, no matter what our elders are doing right now and who’s trying to divide us,” said Kelley, when asked why he helped organize the protest. “For the future, we’ll stand together.”
Aylen Goldman, 18 and a Kearns High student, was asking friends on social media if anyone would want to protest, and got positive responses. When she heard about Kelley’s protest plan, she contacted him so the two could plan a joint protest.
“We contacted other schools, and that’s how we organized it,” Goldman said. “We let everyone know, and we spread the word.
“We are here, united together as family, and that’s the word we’re trying to spread around — that together we can come, peacefully, and we’re going to actually make a difference.”
The protest started late Friday morning at West Valley City’s Hunter High School, when students walked or drove to the next school to add to their ranks. Before it was over, about 1,000 students were protesting together, from Hunter High, Taylorsville High, Kearns High, Murray’s Cottonwood High, and West Valley City’s Granger High.
The Unified Police Department sent officers over to keep an eye on the teens.
“It was peaceful,” said Chuck Malm, a detective with the UPD. “Our whole concern was making sure they were safe. I have no reported incidents.
“They were protesting election results, and they were just walking through,” he said. “They had gatherings in a few places, like the Walmart Parking lot across from Taylorsville High. Eventually, the group was getting smaller and smaller. Our officers stopped holding traffic and returned to normal operations at about 2.”
Up at the Capitol a couple hours later, 100 or so students remained together, talking about their cause. Also with the group was non-student Daniel Argueta, an adult who said he was there to keep the students safe.
“The overall message is one of hope and unity, and power,” Argueta said. “These guys have been ‘beat up’ for the last few years, and their families have been beat up by Donald Trump and his supporters. They thought they would get some kind of redemption by Donald Trump losing, and instead of redemption, they got further beat down by a larger population.
“These guys’ message is to let them know, ‘Hey, we ‘re still here. We’re going to be here, our families are going to be here. Our LGBT community is going to be here. Our Muslim community’s going to be here. Our women are going to be protected, and we’re here to stand together to do that.’
“Just because he won the election doesn’t mean we don’t have the power. It means we are more powerful now because now we are united as a community, and we will come together to fight some of that prejudice and racism that’s out there.”
Argueta said with the protest, the students were exercising their right to free speech.
“They’re not going to be silent anymore.”
Friday’s event followed two major protests in two days in downtown Salt Lake City. A protest event on Wednesday at the City and County Building drew several hundred. A protest downtown Thursday night drew several thousand, who chanted angrily and carried signs with anti-Trump messages.
Several downtown business owners spent Friday morning cleaning up damages and graffiti believed to have occurred during the protest.
Another protest event by the group that met Wednesday is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday. For more information, click here.
Look at what Trump can do even before he is president – bring rival schools together in a way never seen before! But seriously – what an incredible way to celebrate Veteran’s Day, exercising some of the most precious rights protected by Men and Women in uniform and an amazing Constitution.
I’m glad that these students exercised their right to free speech in an apparently peaceful way. This strikes a sharp contrast to the violent protests/riots we’ve seen some adults doing on the news. The younger generation is putting the older one to shame, for once. We need to respect each others’ right to speak, and we need to listen to what those who disagree with us have to say. I know many of the students who attend one of the schools mentioned in this article, and I’m glad that they are the future of America in all their different shapes, sizes, and colors.
Exercise their free speech in an apparently peaceful way? Are you sure you’re referring to the correct incident? Burning the American flag, obstructing traffic, and damaging cars by jumping on them is not peaceful. These children threw a tantrum, plain and simple, not participate in a peaceful protest.
somebody needs to tell that guy to hide the mexican flag. Really bad PR move.
Yeah, especially on the day we honor our American heroes.
It seems rather ironic that the student protestor spoke of having all the races gathered in unity against Trump. Obama and Hillary have spent the last eight years dividing the races and Trump gets the blame for it. Wow! I really am weary of everything being about race. You folks accusing Trump and conservative voters as being divisive, are the exact source of the divisiveness. Can’t you see that? I don’t think of Americans as belonging to different races. I simply think of them as Americans, and so does Donald Trump if you would ever consider the truth. How pathetically sad. If the media, academia and liberals weren’t so busy dividing the races and religions, perhaps these parts of our society wouldn’t even be issues. For now though, I’m just going to take my toys and go home, cause you won’t play my way. And I don’t think I can get up in the morning because I will be in bed crying because I may not have my bread buttered for me the rest of my life. (Sarcasm noted) By the way, I can’t possibly take any more exams, I am just too stressed. Wahhhhhhh.
Maybe they could have spent today remembering those that gave them the right to free speach and planned their crying about the election for another day. That is the problem with people today. They have a scewed view of what might be the right thing to do at the inappropriate time. All they did was take away from the purpose of Veterans Day and make it all about their hurt butts.
It still perplexes me that if they all love Mexico so much, then why aren’t they running back there by the millions?
They come here wishing for what their beloved country can’t or won’t give them. Then, when that isn’t enough, they demand more and more.
Soon, there won’t be any incentive to become a naturalized citizen. In fact, it will be more lucrative to remain in this country illegally.
And every parent should punish these little babies for participating in a riot. Low-key, but a riot nonetheless; complete with arson and property damage. These children have the right to protest, but on their own time, not school time. These children don’t have a say on what happens at this point. If these children, and their parents, want to make a difference, they should gain an education first, seek office second, and enact change with the support of the people. Not throw a tantrum, cause disruption, foment the fear and hatred, embarrass themselves and their family, and show disrespect to the flag on a day set aside for special recognition to veterans.
A letter to our great United States of America ::::
I understand the recent election has left many afraid and wondering what is next. The fact that we elected a man who has had only business sense and no political experience has many feeling unsafe and unwated because of things that were said on the campaign trail.
However, it is we the people who are to blame for the division of our people. For words can hold power only by the actions taken from those who receive them.
America was a land which was built upon the unity of differences. A beacon of hope in the darkest of times. Through everything we have not faltered. Look at our history, we are a great nation because we rely on great people. People who band together, who fight for each other, who care and strive to be the best we can by being One Nation. However, we are falling from with in. We have allowed the words of one man influence the anger and break the unity which we have fought to keep for many generations. So if you are looking for the guilty, you need only look in the mirror.
Roits, anger, rage, hate, and being divided… it all doesn’t have to be this way. Regardless of who is in office, you, us, we the people of these UNITED states should rise to the challenge of making America great again. It is the responsibility of everyone, not just the president. So regardless of who you voted for, wanted to win, or feel now about the president… RISE …
Let the bitterness and hatred fall away from this great nation. I dont support Trump. But I do support America and its people. I love this land. I love those who have fought and died to keep it free and remind us to stand together as one nation.
We are America. Lets start acting like it.
Thank you, and please share if you agree
Something tells me that if this wasn’t during school hours, they’d have less of a turn out. Protesting against their own actions is what’s really going on here, people claim to be standing up against hatred, when a lot of people are calling others names and stereotyping just because of their vote. Isn’t generalizing, name calling and being negative to a group of people because they have one thing in common, whether it’s race, sexual preference, ideology, the very essence of hatred? Music has many genres, but it’s all under the category of music. Hatred has a lot of genres too, people just have deceived themselves into thinking that certain genres of hate is justifiable. Just because you’re offended by someone who triggered pain from your past that YOU haven’t chosen to heal, doesn’t give you a free pass to hate people and not call it hate. LEARN TO BE HONEST WITH YOURSELVES AND THE WORLD IS A MORE PEACEFUL PLACE.