At 1:20 p.m. on January 20, hundreds of Topeka High students participated in a student-run walkout around the school and the Kansas Capitol in protest of ICE and the Trump Administration.
The Topeka High walkout was organized by junior Noah Babiera and freshman Luis Velasquez.
“We realized we could take it [the walkout] into our own hands and raise awareness without needing anyone to help,” Velasquez said.
As for the school response, Principal Dustin Dick released this statement:
“We are aware that some students planned to participate in a walkout during the school day this afternoon. Please note that this is not a school-sanctioned activity.”

School-sanctioned or not, students showed up in their masses, first walking around the Topeka High campus once and then opting to take the demonstration to the Kansas Capitol building.
Students brought signs of all colors and sizes, flags from all around the world, and of course, their voices, which filled downtown Topeka for hours.
Advertisement for the Topeka High protest started on the morning of Saturday, January 17. Flyers were posted and shared by students on social media, creating an instant buzz around the student community. The initial flyer read: “Trojans melt the ICE,” and “Immigrants make America great. Hoy Hoy!”
More informational flyers followed, once again, created and shared entirely by Topeka High students. These flyers reminded students of the importance of staying civil, and they publicly released the chants which would be used at the protest, including “Topeka High, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here” and “Hey hey, ho ho, we think ICE has got to go.”
The timing of the demonstration coincided with many others like it across the United States.
High school and university students all across the country walked out of class as part of the Free America Walkout, which demands home and health for all, justice for survivors of gender based violence, and most importantly, the abolition of ICE.

The day of the walkout came, and as the 1:20 bell rang out through the halls of Troy, hundreds of students walked out the front doors and congregated in front of the school.
After taking a lap around the school, protest co-organizer Noah Babiera announced, “if you want to go home, you can; the rest of us will be marching to the Capitol.”
This proclamation was met with great enthusiasm, as the students proudly proceeded to chant the word “capitol” for minutes on end.
Students marched around the Capitol multiple times, only stopping occasionally to stand on the steps of the building and rally around organizers.
“I really hope everyone realizes they’re not alone and that this protest is a demonstration of that,” Velasquez said. “It’s because of people in our local newspapers and leaders throughout our student body that this went smoothly and safely.”
The protest has garnered a large response online, with thousands of comments voicing opinions on KSNT 27 News’s Facebook post about the walkout. All this interaction, positive and negative, is pushing Topeka High into the spotlight, which it so often occupies as a downtown high school in the capital city.
If there’s anything that Topeka High students have taken away from this experience, it’s an understanding of the power this student body holds.
“Students can recognize injustice,” Babiera said.” They can recognize wrongdoing. They can see it in the world around them, and they want to stop it; a lot of people just don’t know how. This is a step in the right direction for them.”