Students Walk Out at Grant High School

On Friday, February 7th, 2025 at noon, students at Ulysses S. Grant Senior High School began their walkout as a way to protest against the current threat of mass deportations of undocumented children and families across the country. They marched towards Van Nuys City Hall where they formed a picket line with Van Nuys High School students and continued the protest into the afternoon.

Photo by Fernando Leiva

Seeds of activist action were planted a week before when a group of Grant students wanted to protest against the current deportations and for immigrant rights. They were inspired by students around LA county, who had chosen to walk out in protest at their own schools. Soon enough, word spread across LA, including Grant High School about an upcoming student protest. Students began to discuss what they would do during and after the walkout, what time, and where they would meet.

Organizers decided on marching to Van Nuys City Hall on Friday. Different accounts said that it might be at 1:00 pm during the 3rd period, but when rumors of administrators stopping them came about, it was quickly switched to mid-lunch. Student activists began to gather in group chats, on social media, and in meetups to spread the word. They made signs and posters to promote their cause during their protest with different phrases like “Viva La Raza” and “We Have The Right” to show their support for their communities. In response, student groups including athletes of all sports teams and all members of the Associated Student Body (ASB) were threatened, saying that if they participated in the walkout, they would be removed from their respective groups and prevented from participating in their senior events.

The day the protest began like any other Friday: students attended their first two periods without issue. Before lunch, the bridge between the 100s and 200s was closed off to students, citing safety concerns. When lunch arrived, many athletes said they weren’t able to participate because they wanted to continue to be a Grant athlete, and ASB students didn’t want to be removed for supporting their community. Despite these warnings, many still chose to continue participating in the demonstration.

At approximately 12:08 PM, students began to walk out of the school campus through the main office. Many of the staff and teachers watched, many in support of the student activists and their choice to stand with their community. About two to three hundred students came out of the school, holding signs, posters, and flags of their respective countries. The protest had begun. 

The march and protest to City Hall

As the student activists walked out, they began their march to Van Nuys City Hall. They started on Oxnard Street, taking the direct path towards Van Nuys. As they marched they raised signs, flags, and posters. The student activists started chanting phrases like “Si Se Puede” meaning “Yes We Can” and “Latinos Unidos,” meaning Latinos United. During the march cars would pass by honking to show support while people would come outside their apartments or houses to cheer on the students. Later on in the march, a woman and her family stopped and began to pass out drinks and snacks to the protestors. Fellow protesters helped and took boxes of snacks, passing them out to others as they continued to march. Further down the street, they crossed and turned onto Van Nuys Boulevard to continue towards the City Hall. As they approached they would soon see the students from Van Nuys High School protesting as well.

The protest continued on as the Grant students joined the Van Nuys students, forming a picket line, a joining of the two communities to fight for an important social issue. As the students protested outside of Van Nuys City Hall, they continued to get support from people passing by in their cars or on the sidewalks. People continued to pass out food and water to make sure everyone had the energy to keep going. The students chanted and cheered for their cause, making themselves heard. One student, began to lead the protest with chants about immigrants rights and how they would continue to fight for themselves and others.

The protest continued for a few more hours until 4PM, but nearing the end of the second hour of the City Hall protest, students began to dance to music, the traditional Latino music filling the air as they celebrated their culture amongst the fight for their people’s rights.