More than 80 Early College High School students protest ICE

ELYRIA — A group of mostly younger students made their voices heard on Friday, as they walked out of the Lorain County Early College High School in protest of the federal crackdown on immigration. More than 80 students walked out of the program at Lorain County Community College shortly before 1 p.m. and walked across the college campus. They carried signs in support of immigrants and in opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and the deportation push being pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump. Sophomore Kayden Sprinkle was the primary organizer of the event, which follows similar walkouts at high schools across the county. "I thought that it was important that we do this just like our peers that go to JVS and Elyria High School," Sprinkle told the group prior to the march. "It is important to hold protests like these and bring awareness to all of the people that have been affected by ICE. What is going on in our co57ntry right now is not OK. Nobody deserves to be killed for bringing their families to this country in search of a better life." The group chanted slogans such as "No justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets" and "OH-IO, ICE has got to go." Most of the students, like Sprinkle, were underclassmen, as many juniors and seniors do not have classes on Friday. "Ignorance is not bliss," student Violet Potts, 14, said "If you are ignorant, then nothing will change, it is going to stay exactly how it is. That is why we are here today, nobody here is ignorant. I am so glad we got a lot of people." Only about 300 students in total are enrolled with the Early College High School, most of them from Elyria, and Sprinkle remarked that this meant nearly a third of all the students in the program participated, even with almost no upperclassmen present at school. Sprinkle said she had seen posts on social media criticizing fellow student protesters who had walked out of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School and Elyria High School in the past week. She said this negativity only made it more important that she and her classmates follow those other groups and walk out. "People bashing students, that is just disgusting," Sprinkle said. "How can you call yourself an Elyria resident and then bash our children because they decided to take a stand?" In a statement from LCCC, the college said that it had not planned or initiated the protest, but that representatives had followed and observed the walkout to ensure it was orderly and abided by college procedures. "Lorain County Community College respects students' rights to express their views peacefully," Tracy Green, vice president of strategic and institutional development, said in a statement. "Our role was to ensure students were aware of the college's procedures for outdoor expressive activities and that the campus environment remained supportive of learning for everyone." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.