At 11:00 AM this morning, students assembled in and around the PAC Café to participate in the M-A Protest Organization’s scheduled walkout.
They marched throughout campus to protest the police incident on April 28, which many viewed as an example of police violence specifically towards BIPOC individuals.
Students then headed off campus towards Burgess Park, where they planned to reconvene.
While they walked they continued to hold up advocacy signs and vocalize chants such as “Black lives matter” and “Hands up; don’t shoot!”
“I decided to come because I was actually there when [the student] was getting arrested and seeing that… I couldn’t believe my eyes. I hope that [the walkout] will show our administration that we want a change and that we will not stop until we get a change.” – Melanie Osuna Madera
“We wanted to show people that even though it’s such a small thing, it’s really concerning and that we really care. We hope that the police get re-educated because the way they handled things was not okay, it was so unprofessional. We want justice for all the trauma they brought to the student.” – Itzel Garcia
Students sat at Burgess and cheered on speeches by the walkout’s leaders.
“We’re not gonna let this happen ever again. When we did, we were just kids sitting there, letting the police do anything because we were scared. But we’re not scared by them.” – Steven Gomez
“I hope that the training that is being put forth actually helps people in the future, especially people of color who have always been seen as aggressive. Tomorrow we are doing another walkout but with multiple districts, multiple schools hoping to get a bigger reaction.” – Alex Fraser
Students stopped at 7/11 and J&J’s Hawaiian Barbecue and the protest came to a close.
