A lesson from student protests

At first I was taken aback as I scrolled through the thousands of comments on The Chronicle-Telegram's social media pages, watching adults lob angry comments at teens like spitballs in study hall. What had the teens done to attract such scorn? A crime? Destruction of property? Horrific disrespect? Oh, these horrible kids — they protested. In a polite, respectful, organized way. The nerve. It started on Feb. 4, when hundreds of Lorain High School students walked out of class to protest President Donald Trump and the ongoing immigration crackdown in the aftermath of the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Students organized it over group chat and met with administrators beforehand to let the district know. Students carried handmade signs, Mexican and Puerto Rican flags, and chanted slogans against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Many of them were standing up for their friends or their family members, they said. "This is a civic opportunity, a teachable moment... as you can see, nothing but class," said Superintendent Jeff Graham, who watched from a sidewalk. "I believe everyone deserves equality," said sophomore Adrianna Cofield, 17. About 150 students at the Lorain County Joint Vocational School followed suit, in a "peaceful and diplomatic walkout" the school said in a release. The next week there were two more protests: hundreds of students at Elyria High School walked out of class, as did the Early College High School students at Lorain County Community College. Both groups were protesting the brutal deportation tactics being deployed by ICE, and to support immigration. The EHS students also were protesting the devastating $9 million in budget cuts that will cost 71 jobs, slash busing and lead to other cuts in their schools. Elyria Students are faced with floundering schools after voters struggling to pay their own bills shot down two levies last year. Ohio is a state that has long relied on unconstitutional property tax-based school funding. The Republican stranglehold on our state government has siphoned off more than $1 billion of our tax money into private and charter schools, bleeding our public schools dry. Some held retro signs mimicking ones from the 1970s Schoolhouse Rock! logo changed to "Schoolhouse Broke!" Others referenced NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" album cover changed to "Straight Outta Funding." Some said "ICE melts." Some read "Democracy is for all, not the few," which could hold up for all protests, in all American eras. Dekarion Wimberly and Xander Frisch, both seniors, organized the EHS protest, which happened during an extended homeroom. School officials said the students brought their plans to administrators and followed school rules. The protest was brief. So what was it about all these young people? In each case, administrators said the students planned their peaceful and respectful walkouts, led them with administrators' knowledge, and quickly returned to class. But no sirree, that wasn't enough to keep the commenters online from taking aim as sure as if these kids has held up a bulls-eye over their heads. Thousands — thousands! — let fly. They attacked their clothing — as if protesting requires a dress code — and called for their expulsion. They deserved a week extra for every walkout, they insisted. "This isn't teaching them anything but to protest and demand their way." "They can't even vote." "Need to go back to 5th grade civics." It was perhaps this comment — "Bring back bullying. This will solve the problem" — that finally had me rolling my eyes. As if bullying ever left, I muttered out loud. I can't imagine what it must be like to be the sort of person who would publicly advocate for the bullying of a teen. There's one school walkout that I forgot to mention in my rundown, so I'll stick it here so all the cranks that like to bash kids will have some new material. It didn't happen in this county, but it was a pretty big one. More than a thousand kids skipped school and they all marched downtown. And they didn't just walk around and go back to class after 15 minutes, either. No, they were just defiant. Hundreds of them were arrested, but that didn't keep them from doing it again the next day, even after city officials said you better not. Those kids didn't listen. And the next day, they did it again. And again. The city was up in arms. Judging from the responses on our social media, I bet a lot of people would say those kids ought to shut up and be punished. Well those kids were. They were the Black children of Birmingham, Ala., in 1963. Children as young as eight faced hell from Police Commissioner Bull Conner's dogs and fire hoses while the nation watched. He hauled elementary age kids off to jail in school buses. And still they protested, knowing what they would face. In the end, President John F. Kennedy took notice. The nation was horrified. And Alabama began to change. Let me tell you something about these teens today. They have never known a day of school without the knowledge of "active shooter drills" in their minds. These kids' entire lives were upended by the pandemic. If you think your snarky comments on Facebook can undo them, think again. I believe the kids coming up today — and I still have a teen — are paying more attention to us than we expect. It's pretty telling when one side does all the insult slinging and one side carries signs with "Love thy neighbors" and "Fight ignorance, not immigrants." WWJD? This is why I laugh: Repeatedly I saw these keyboard cowboys rant at these student protesters — who did not take the bait, by the way — with dismissive declarations of "they don't even vote." Oh yes, I chuckled; underestimate these politically engaged students on the cusp of 18 at your peril. Contact Chronicle-Telegram columnist Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.