Nationwide protests and a general strike took place on January 30 in response to heavy ICE presence in Minnesota and the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The general strike encouraged people to call off work, stay home from school, and not make any purchases on January 30 with the motto, “No Work. No School. No Shopping”. 

Protests were also organized nationwide to encourage Congress to stop funding ICE. Many of these protests were held in the form of school walkouts. 

On the day of the general strike, Venice High School had a 64 percent attendance rate and L.A.U.S.D. as a whole had an 80 percent attendance rate, according to L.A.U.S.D.’s attendance tracker. 

Of the students who did still attend school, many took action in the form of a protest at lunch in front of the school alongside many teachers and staff. 

Students and teachers made signs beforehand, with teachers holding a workshop during nutrition as an opportunity to make signs, and stood facing Venice Boulevard for cars to see. 

Some student organizers also led the group of protesters in chants against ICE and the Trump administration. 

Senior London Vannieuwenhoven attended the protest after finding out about it from their first period teacher. 

“There was no way I was going to stand by while my neighbors were being taken and my friends felt they were in danger,” they said. 

In the past year, Venice High has had many student-led protests. This was the first protest that teachers also participated in.

”I was very glad to see so many teachers,” Vannieuwenhoven said. “It’s good to see that they’re supporting students. It was good to see the community out there.”

Math teacher Charlie Styrbicki was also glad to see so many of his colleagues protesting.

”It was nice to see that people had the same viewpoints as me, even if they don’t have the same background as me,” he said. “They were making their voices heard just like the kids.”

Styrbicki was born and raised in Minnesota and lived there until he was 25. 

“I hear a lot from my friends who still live there that there’s a lot of tension in the city,” he said. “People are worried to leave their house, people don’t feel very safe or secure, everything is strange.”

Other high schools in Los Angeles that participated in these walkouts encountered complications.

According to the LAist, Ricardo Lopez, a teacher from Synergy Quantum Academy, was fired for opening a gate which allowed students to leave in protest without having to jump over a gate. Lopez has since stated that his intention was to prevent students from being hurt by the gate, but was fired that same day for his involvement in facilitating the student walkout. 

Social studies teacher Leonard Beckerman did not attend the protest. 

“What’s the line between voicing your opinion and skipping school?” He asked. “If you’re a voter, you have a responsibility to voice your vote in the ballot box. If you’re not a voter yet, what are you actually doing?”

Beckerman thinks that for the sake of both teachers and students, students should stay in the classroom.

“I think it’s more important to be in the classroom and learn about these events,” he said.

He also worries about students’ safety while protesting. 

“Teachers are responsible for students so if somebody protests and accidentally gets hurt, that could really hurt the cause,” he said.”I teach mostly ninth and 10th graders so I feel like I’m responsible for them when they’re in my classroom. I wouldn’t want them to get hurt.” 

Styrbicki feels that by being present at the protest, he was able to help keep students safe.

“I was out there to make sure everyone was safe and to support the students that chose to protest and make their voices heard,” he said. 

Both Styrbicki and Beckerman emphasize the importance of exercising the First Amendment right. 

“It’s important to exercise your first amendment rights,” Beckerman said. “I just think during the school year, it gets a little tricky.”

“I really wanted to encourage the students to come out there and make their voices heard because it’s part of the benefit of this country, we have freedom to make our voices heard and I think that’s a really powerful thing that students were able to do,” Styrbicki said. 

Protests also took place across the city with thousands of people showing up at Los Angeles City Hall, Burbank City Hall, The Culver Steps, and many more locations. 

At the Culver Steps protest—which was scheduled to take place at 3:30pm—protesters gathered by the steps and on the sidewalks facing Culver Boulevard. The group of protesters consisted of many students. 

At the protest, Venice High sophomore Arjun Nayar said that he felt it was important for him to take part in the protest.

”ICE is absolutely incorrect both morally and politically,” he said. “I am a person of color. I’m half Indian and half-white and people think I’m Latino or Hispanic all the time. This is a scary time for every single person, white people and everyone else included. I’m doing my best to do my part as a young person in America.” 

An eighth grader at Culver City Middle School spoke about how they feel responsible for the future of the nation.

”Not enough people are speaking up and the government has gotten so bad that we feel the need to be out here protesting,” they said. “We are young, we shouldn’t be out here. Our government shouldn’t be this bad.”

Another eighth grader at Culver City Middle School made a similar statement.

“I feel like a lot of people are looking up to our generation,” they said. “I feel the responsibility to protest for the people that I love.”

Students from Culver City High School walked out and went to Carlson Park to make signs before walking to the Culver Steps to join the larger protest. 

The protesters didn’t solely consist of young people. 

John Kent, a Vietnam veteran, said he felt that the nation is being threatened by the prospect of fascism. 

“I’m a Vietnam veteran,” he said. “That’s why I wear this ‘Veterans Against Fascism’ shirt, and that’s what I think we’re facing.” 

Many parents also brought their children to the protest.

One mother said she felt it was important to involve her son in the protest to show him what people really stand for.

”We brought our son out here, he’s nine years old,” she said. “We think it’s really important that everybody shows that this is not what the United States should be standing for. There’s a lot of behaviors that have gone on for the entire history of our country that need change and it’s only going to happen from the bottom up.”

 Nayar hopes that people—especially youth—continue to have the courage to stay politically engaged.

“There are limits to what you can do but just do the most,” he said. “Stand up, speak up, do whatever you can.”