The sound of chanting, the beating of drums, and the honk of car horns filled the air as a flock of San Marcos students poured out onto Turnpike and Hollister on Thursday, March 9th. At the beginning of 2nd period at 10:38 am, SM students gathered together. They walked off campus to protest the new Trump administration policies that allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to arrest students at public schools, which has significantly reduced student attendance across the country.
After walking out of class, the students marched to the Magnolia shopping center down Hollister and then back to San Marcos, congregating on Turnpike across the street from the school. San Marcos school employees were a part of the crowd diligently ensuring the safety of the students. The walkout lasted until lunch, ending at approximately 12:30 pm.
As the effect of ICE policies has been felt in Santa Barbara and Goleta, feelings of anxiety and fear have ignited across many who are a part of the San Marcos Community. In protest, the students carried and waved posters with slogans critical of the new policies. Some of the posters brandished slogans like “Fight Ignorance ,not immigrants”, “Immigrants are the backbone of this country” and “No one is illegal on stolen land”.
The walkout was organized by the San Marcos club MEcha (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán,) a club focused on providing a place of empowerment and unity for students on campus as well as empowering Latino youth. With the recent changes in politics, the club has strived to be a safe and unifying place advocating for the rights of all students, regardless of their background.
The effect of the walkout reverberated throughout San Marcos with many classes being nearly empty or at least missing a significant percent of their student body. The student participation in the walkout was crucial to the impact it had across the community.
San Marcos has had walkouts before, most notably there was one during the 2023-2024 school year to show support for the Santa Barbara Unified School District teacher “soft strike.” Similarly to the most recent walkout, the previous one had also seen a large turnout of students and sparked conversations around Santa Barbara.
Under the precedent set by the Supreme Court case Tinker V Des Moines, students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they enter school meaning that, among other things, students can not be punished for protesting or voicing their opinions. Therefore the March 9th walkout was a completely legal demonstration of students’ First Amendment rights. While student protesting is protected under the constitution, that doesn’t mean that they don’t face consequences for missing specific classes. Students were still marked absent if they participated in the walkout unless they were called out in advance. Under California law students can take an excused absence (if called out by a parent) for one day a year to participate in a “civic or political event”.
“Our position as far as any walkout that is organized by students is that our number one priority is to keep them safe,” Said San Marcos principal Dare Holdren
“And on a personal level, we care a lot about our kids and the fact that there are students that are feeling passionate about positions and want to exercise those constitutional rights-I think that is part of what a healthy democracy looks like,” Holdren added.
After the protest the chief of communication for the Santa Barbara Unified School District published a statement about the walkout, “We encourage and support our students in making their voices heard and engaging in their local community. We support students in researching, asking questions, and engaging in both local and global issues that are important to them as they learn to become engaged, informed, and productive citizens.”
On January 28th, 2025 City administrator Kelly McAdoo gave a written statement that read, “The Santa Barbara Police Department and our City government remain steadfast in providing, and making accessible, services to all of our community members, regardless of immigration status. Under California’s SB 54 (the California Values Act), local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from participating in immigration enforcement except in limited specific circumstances. In addition, all City departments have been directed to provide services to all of our residents, without requiring proof of immigration status, except in legally required circumstances.” However, despite these statements, ICE is still a cause of worry in Santa Barbara. Although SB 54 prevents local law enforcement from helping ICE, ICE is a federal agency that can still operate regardless of the involvement of local police.
It is clear that the students of San Marcos are passionate about their futures and the well-being of their country. With lots of political changes occurring in the US, this walkout will surely not be the last display of students’ opinions and rights. It underscores the importance of freedom of speech and the power of standing up for what you believe in.
