Over 300 Turlock High students walk out in solidarity with Minneapolis
Renee Good. Alex Pretti. Keith Porter Jr.
Those were among the people — all killed by federal agents — who were honored by Turlock High School students during a campus walkout Friday.
At noon, more than 300 students left their classrooms in a show of solidarity with the Minneapolis community. The walkout was met outside by the school’s principal, several parents and adult organizers wearing orange safety vests.
Turlock High junior Grace Nass said she participated because she feels the country is not in a good place right now.
“Donald Trump thinks he can sit here and have ICE members kill people and murder people and deport immigrants who work hard to be in this country,” Nass said. “I feel like he shouldn’t be in office, and ICE shouldn’t be out on the streets.”
Principal David Kline told The Bee that he supports the student’s right to protest, but as a school employee, he said he is neither for nor against their cause. “That’s not my role,” Kline said. “My role is to play a neutral role and make sure that our kids are safe.”
Monica Cooke, an English teacher and adviser for the Young Democrats club at Pitman High School, said she decided to stop by during her lunch break. She noted that one of her former students also was participating in the protest.
Cueponca Sandoval, the parent of a Turlock student, played the ukulele alongside Cooke’s former student as the protestors walked by. “We’re playing music that is the music of resistance,” Sandoval said. “We need to dismantle these old ideas that keep us apart and understand that every human has a right to dignity.”
While she and her son are both U.S. citizens, Sandoval said her son often asks if he is safe.
The students marched to Crane Park, where they were met with Costco pizza, water bottles and poster paper provided by organizers, including members of the Central Valley Black Indigenous People of Color Coalition. There also was a booth for those 16 and older to preregister to vote.
At the park, students began making protest signs as the music of Bad Bunny blared from a speaker. Some posters read “Love, not hate, makes America great,” while others referenced the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Turlock resident and Turlock High School alumnus Harpreet Singh was at Crane Park, waiting for his wife and daughter to stop by. “What they’re doing here is a great thing,” Singh said of the protestors. “Great turnout for a great cause.”
Before the group headed out, Bianca Lopez, a member of CVBIPOCC, delivered a brief “Know Your Rights” refresher. Lopez said she got involved after coalition members saw a post about the walkout and wanted to support the students, ensuring they could safely exercise their right to protest.
As the students marched to Central Park, through downtown Turlock, residents cheered and drivers honked in support. Protesters chanted “student power” and “no justice, no peace, no ICE on our streets,” appearing more energized by the signs they had just made.
“Go get ‘em!” an older woman shouted from her apartment window.
At Central Park, the students held up their signs and rallied as cars went by, drivers honking their horns. Then student organizer Jenna Jewell held a moment of silence for the lives lost to ICE or within ICE custody.
“As students, we’ve seen and felt this fear and anxiety surrounding ICE,” said Jewell. “We are a community of immigrants.”
Around 1:30 p.m., students began the mile-long march back to Crane Park, with Turlock police officers on motorcycles riding nearby.
Harlan Diven, an organizer, reminded students that leaving a protest can be the most difficult part and urged them to stay together.
One student was overheard speaking with a parent by phone, explaining where he was.
The district confirmed that there were 391 absences at Turlock High School during the time of the walkout. However, some of them may be regular absences. Pitman High School had 559 absences.
District intimidation alleged
The day before the protest, the district emailed parents, encouraging them to urge students to remain on campus due to safety concerns.
“[Turlock Unified School District] supports the right to peaceful expression; however, our primary responsibility is ensuring the safety and supervision of our students,” reads the message from Marie Russell, the district’s spokesperson. “For this reason, we have significant concerns about student safety should a walkout occur during school hours.”
The message added that regular attendance procedures would apply for any student absences.
Under state Senate Bill 955, middle and high school students are allowed one excused absence for participating in civic engagement activities with advance parental permission.
In a follow-up message, the district cited the bill but added that “without advanced authorization, time out of class may be recorded as unexcused and could result in a tardy or truancy mark.” It also said that the district has been in contact with local law enforcement to provide “increased safety patrols, as needed.”
In response, student organizers and advocates sent a letter Friday accusing the district of attempting to intimidate protesters. The letter also alleged that a dean “directly confronted and intimidated a 16-year-old student who is planning to participate in the walkout.”
The letter criticized the district’s messaging, arguing that it amounted to speech suppression by threatening students with truancy and coordinating with law enforcement.
“This is especially chilling given that the protest itself concerns police and federal agent violence,” the letter reads.
The Latino Community Roundtable also wrote a letter in support of the students. “Students are more than attendance figures or funding formulas. They are young people learning how to think critically, act ethically, and participate in a democracy that directly affects their lives and families,” wrote Lopez, who is president of LCR. “Moments like this are often when civic education becomes real.”
During the rally, Jewell spoke of the intimidation and encouraged people to show up to the school board meeting next week.
“Our admin who preached to us and told us to honor MLK and to honor him just last week are the ones that tried to stop this,” Jewell said.
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 5:59 PM.
