With nationwide walkouts taking place to protest ICE, rumors have began swirling about a protest making its way to East. There are many people who aren’t concerned with themselves to participate. While many think, “How am I as one person gonna change things if I’m there or not?” And while the problem does seem larger than life, it’s important that everyone uses their voice for what is important for the benefit of society. 

Well, how did things get like this in the first place?

The immigration process became more restrictive when the Immigration Act of 1990 was passed, resulting in backlogs of paperwork for migrants. The process can take as long as 6 years for permanent residence in the United States, but some people don’t have that kind of time and have resorted to coming illegally.

Many media outlets report that ICE has taken people from their homes and families using faulty warrants. Many of these people are United States citizens or have no criminal record. Officers have also been documented using physical force that have resulted in the death of multiple protesters.

If it’s this bad, why does it seem like there have been no major changes to put an end it it?

The crazier and rasher the Trump administration gets, the more people just get used to it. The public has been so desensitized to acts of hate by events that people have resulted to shrugging their shoulders and saying, “that doesn’t effect me.” The lack of empathy epidemic has spread like wildfire in this country, but this is where students come in.

How is a walkout going to change anything going on?

The right to unionize is more powerful than you think, during titular times of racial politics the one thing that stays stagnant is protest and progress doesn’t happen without it. New media covers stories like this, they have with schools around the Oswego area and they will again. The bigger the crowd, the louder we impact the movement. Every person is crucial to the operation.

Why would someone participate?

To support and use your voice for people who cannot, to show empathy and kindness to people around you, to promote peacefulness for the public, to help change legislation to more ethical routes, to improve the nation. There are a variety of reasons why students nationwide are choosing to participate.

Written by seniors Kai Bugg and Micah Monahan . Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.