Hundreds Of Students Lead Peaceful Anti-Trump Protests 1 Week After Election

PALO ALTO, CA – Hundreds of students left classrooms today in Palo Alto and San Mateo County to join peaceful protests, many opposing Donald Trump's election to the U.S. presidency.

Nearly 700 Stanford University students, staff and faculty members marched to the school's White Plaza and Main Quad shortly before noon, organizers said.

The crowd chanted phrases such as "People united will never be defeated" and "Show me what democracy looks like," public policy graduate student Jacob Waggoner said.

Many participants were encouraged to wear black and read a prepared statement provided by the organizers before they left their classes, meetings or jobs, he said.

"The event was meant to bring communities together through a show of love and strength," Waggoner said.

A school administrator and representatives from various student groups spoke to the crowd during the roughly hour-long gathering, according to Waggoner.

The organizers demanded the university become a sanctuary campus for undocumented immigrants; administrators, including the school's president and provost, to denounce the bigotry elicited by the Trump campaign and school officials to take steps in developing policies that support people affected by the hateful national rhetoric, Waggoner said.

"The main point of this action was to really capitalize on this moment in the changing political landscape," engineering physics student Shane Johnson said.

Johnson predicted that Trump's upcoming presidency will lead to more violence in the next few years.

"He represents a regression back to Jim Crow era," Johnson said, referring to laws in the country that allowed racial segregation.

Palo Alto High School students also organized a 2:30 p.m. peace march to Lytton Plaza in the city's downtown, according to a Facebook page for the event.

The high school group expected to meet with other students within the city from Stanford University, Henry Gunn High School, Jordan Middle School and independent girls school Castilleja School in addition to Woodside High School in Woodside.

The march is promoting a message of love, unity and acceptance, but isn't directed toward Trump, according to the Facebook page.

A majority of the group isn't eligible to vote and chose to speak out against hate and oppression, the Facebook page said.

Palo Alto police warned the public of potential traffic delays due to the march in the downtown area, particularly along El Camino Real and University Avenue, from noon to 6 p.m.

Students from San Mateo, Hillsdale and Aragon high schools have also planned to leave their respective campuses around 1:30 p.m. today to Central Park in downtown San Mateo, San Mateo Union High School District Superintendent Kevin Skelly said in a statement.

The group planned to discuss the presidential election with a focus on unity and peace, Skelly said.

While district staff didn't plan to stop the group, they would record unexcused absences for anyone students not in class, according to Skelly.

San Mateo police were sent to each school to make sure students were safe, Skelly said.

In Union City, more than 200 students from James Logan High School walked out of the campus to City Hall and the police station across the street in a peaceful protest around 11:30 a.m. Monday, New Haven Unified
School District officials said.

The group held many signs including one that read, "Not my president," and shared their concerns following last week's election.

ALSO SEE:

• Mtn. View H.S. Teacher Allegedly Placed On Leave After Making Trump, Hitler Comparisons Returns To Work
• Area High School Principal Placed on Leave Following Anti-Trump Walkout

--Bay City News/Image via Palo Alto Peace March