APPLETON (NBC 26) — As students in Green Bay took to the streets Tuesday afternoon, a similar scene was playing out just south in Appleton.
Starting at 2 p.m., students from multiple Appleton Area School District campuses walked out of class as part of the nationwide “Free America” student walkout, a coordinated protest happening across the country.
Organizers say the walkout is aimed at protesting current government policies, with a major focus on immigration enforcement, as well as what they describe as broader threats to civil rights.
At Appleton East High School, students gathered outside their school before marching to Houdini Plaza in downtown Appleton, joining more than 800 similar demonstrations planned nationwide on Tuesday.
William Quick, a junior at Appleton East High School and one of the organizers of the local walkout, said seeing students come together was powerful.
“It makes me feel really powerful with everyone that's uniting just to support one common cause of just equal rights, and everyone should have a life that matters,” Quick said. “It feels amazing to see everyone just turn out to believe, to show what they believe in, mainly.”
Organizers say the walkout is part of a broader call to disrupt what they describe as “business as usual.”
School district officials say attendance policies still apply, but students who participated say they felt speaking out was worth the risk.
