When a mass of hundreds of students walked out of classes on Monday to protest President-elect Donald J. Trump’s presidential election victory, the media were in a frenzy to cover the millennial excitement. However, the media focused on the protest and not who was responsible for the gathering.
On Monday, the protest began at approximately 10 a.m. at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. Some media outlets reported that there were 500 to 800 Montgomery Blair students as well as students from Northwood High School, a neighboring school, who walked out of classes and gathered in the stadium.
However, the most shocking news that was barely touched on by mainstream media, is that the school itself planned the walkout.
According to, Montgomery Community Media, Blair High School Principal Renay Johnson sent the following message to parents and guardians:
Hello Blair Families,
As you may have heard, high school students across the nation are planning to walk out to protest current events. We are taking a constructive approach ensure that students remain safe on campus and that there will be minimum disruption to the school day and their learning. Some of our students are planning a peaceful “protest at 10 a.m. today, Monday, November 14.
articipation is voluntary and not encouraged by school staff. To ensure their safety, which is our TOP priority, we “are providing “a safe place (our stadium) for students. The time planned for the protest is 10 a.m. Students are to return to the school building at the end of period 3 (11:07 a.m.) to resume their day. Parents will be notified through our automated attendance system if their child is marked absent from any classes today.
However More than 100 students decided not to return and instead took to the streets. Ariana Brenig, a student who reportedly wore a T-shirt that read, “Rapists go to the big house not the White House,” told the school’s student newspaper, Silver Chips, that “I just feel like if we’re in the stadium no one’s gonna see our protest. We gotta get out and show everyone what we’re doing. I feel like the protest should stay peaceful.”