Students of Bard High School Early College in Queens walked out of class on Wednesday protesting the rhetoric and politics of President-elect Donald Trump.
At 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, dozens of students of the Long Island City school gathered outside of the building on Thomson Avenue and 30th Street holding signs and chanting, but also discussing their fears regarding the Trump’s presidency.
“We’re one of the most diverse schools in a very diverse city, so having a president-elect with a very hateful rhetoric that targets almost every single student at our school — we felt that was unacceptable,” senior Izzi Stevenson told DNAinfo New York, which first broke the story.
Bard High School Early College in Queens is a partner of Bard College and students at the school take college-level courses in their last two years. The school serves around 600 students. According to the Department of Education statistics, 34 percent of the students are Asian, 35 percent are white, 11 percent are black and 17 percent are Hispanic.
Many students at the school were afraid after the results of the election.
“After the election, the whole school community was overwhelmed with fear and grief,” said Murshika Emu, a senior at Bard High School Early College who helped organize the protest. “Hearing [Trump’s] opinions on Muslims — it’s frightening, because I don’t want to be scared to walk around in my own country.”
While many students have participated in protests since the election, this protest was organized specifically for students who have fears following the election to support each other.
“We have such an amazing diverse community at this school,” said senior Kate Howell, 17. “It’s really about showing our fellow students that we’re all together, and we’re going to stand up for them.”
