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HUNDREDS OF NYC STUDENTS WALK OUT OF CLASS FOR ‘ANTI-TRUMP,
NONPARTISAN’ PROTEST  
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Michael Elsen-Rooney and Amy Zimmer
May 27, 2025
Chalkbeat
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_ Hundreds of high school students in New York City walked out of
class Tuesday for what organizers called an “anti-Trump,
nonpartisan” protest against attacks on democracy under President
Donald Trump’s administration. _

New York City high school students rallied against the Trump
administration on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Manhattan's Union Square
during a rally organized by a new grassroots student-led group called
We the Students., Photo: Michael Elsen-Rooney / Chalkbeat

 

Hundreds of high school students in New York City walked out of class
Tuesday for what organizers called an “anti-Trump, nonpartisan”
protest against attacks on democracy under President Donald Trump’s
administration.

Teenagers representing dozens of high schools, many sporting red,
white, and blue apparel and face paint, met in Union Square.
Organizers made the case that pushing back on President Donald
Trump’s efforts to crack down on universities
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protesters
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up immigration enforcement
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a matter of standing up for constitutional rights rather than partisan
politics.

“We want to unite kids from all political stances around protecting
the constitutional rights that we believe are being threatened right
now by the Trump administration,” said Nava Litt, a senior at the
Bronx Science of High School who helped organize the protest. She
noted that members come from a range of political backgrounds, from
“serious pro-Palestinian activists to people who have parents who
voted for Trump and have gone to Trump rallies.”

Students touted signs including, “Fascism is bad, actually,” to,
“WE’RE NOT RADICAL. WE JUST PAY ATTENTION IN HISTORY CLASS.”

 
A student displays a handwritten sign at Tuesday's rally in Union
Square.  (Photo: Michael Elsen-Rooney / Chalkbeat)
The rally, which follows mass protests in cities across the country
in recent months
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represents one of the first large-scale mobilizations of New York City
K-12 students since Trump took office in January.

One attendee noted that unlike many adult or even college-age
protesters, most high school students cannot vote — making it
critical for them to raise their voices in other ways.

Litt created a student group called “We the Students”
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in February as a “nonpartisan, pro-democracy group.” For the
walkout, she tapped her social networks, connecting with students from
about 20 schools and deputizing “captains” at those campuses to
organize their classmates.

Some attendees said they’ve been yearning for a chance to make their
voices heard about how the Trump administration’s policies are
affecting them and leapt at the chance to protest.

“I lead the political science club at my school, so I’m just kind
of constantly looking for stuff like this,” said Madeline LaGreco, a
freshman at the Clinton School in Manhattan, who found out about the
rally on Instagram, then posted it on her own account to share with
friends.

Others had to overcome some hesitation before attending the rally.

“I know a lot of people close to me, a lot of my friends who do go
to my school judged me for wanting to go to this,” said Samantha
Kim, also a freshman at the Clinton School. “It’s one of those
things where they don’t believe in politics. But at this point,
it’s not politics, it’s human rights.”
 
Students at Tuesday's rally display signs demanding more protection
for students and schools. (Photo:  Michael Elsen-Rooney / Chalkbeat)
The specific issues that rally attendees and speakers highlighted ran
the gamut from the crackdown on academic freedom
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higher education, to immigration enforcement, to the targeting of law
firms
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Several attendees said they were deeply concerned about the effects of
threats to pull federal funding from colleges they would be applying
to in a matter of years.

Others pointed out that Trump’s efforts to dismantle the federal
education department
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affect them immediately. Many students raised concerns about the
prospect of friends or relatives facing immigration enforcement.

The day before the rally, Chalkbeat reported on a 20-year-old high
school student in the Bronx who was detained
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after showing up to a
routine court date — the first known case of a current city public
school student detained by immigration officials.

“The administration has done so many things, you really can’t even
pinpoint one specific thing,” said Abigail, a student at Brooklyn
Technical High School who asked to use only her first name. “It
calls for just a massive expression of anger directed towards the
administration.”

Litt said the idea of walking out of school was rooted in a practical
New York City tradition
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“Walkouts are something New York City kids do and have done before
and understand how they work and understand the tradition of it,”
she said. “And there’s a real robust protest culture in New York
City high schools, and we want to tap into that energy and tap into
that enthusiasm.”

Some students said they were expecting consequences like detention for
attending the protest. To minimize academic disruptions, student
organizers decided to wait until after AP exams, which took place
earlier in May.

City schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said that students who
left school before dismissal would be marked absent from any classes
they missed.

“We respect the voice of students as they speak out on the difficult
issues of our time and advocate for their peers,” she said in a
statement. “As we have said repeatedly, our students should remain
in school to continue to get the world-class education they
deserve.”

Some students said that when they weighed the possible short-term
consequences of missing school against the longer-term importance of
speaking out, they came down firmly on the side of attending the
rally.

“You can be worried about … current repercussions,” said
LaGreco, the Clinton School freshman. “But the further this
administration does the things that they’ve been doing, the actual
repercussions in the real world, not just our school, completely
outweigh everything.”

_[MICHAEL ELSEN-ROONEY is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering
NYC public schools. Contact Michael [email protected]_

_AMY ZIMMER is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy
[email protected].]_

* Student protests
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* high school students
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* high school student protests
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* teenagers
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* New York City
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* Donald Trump
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* Trump 2.0
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* Protest
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* Resistance 2.0
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* students
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* democracy
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* Immigration
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* deportations
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* constitutional rights
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* We the Students
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