“I think that if you can’t have the empathy to imagine yourself in a different situation than you are, then that’s something that will define your opinion on everything in the political world that you see,” said Senior Reese Miller. On January 30th, 2026, at 2:50 pm, approximately 250 students from Davenport Central High School wore the color blue and participated in a student-led Anti-ICE walkout that traveled from the school building to Brady and 8th Street. Those who chose to participate skipped their eighth period and faced the consequence of an unexcused absence. Staff were notified in advance of the possibility of the walkout with an email and a virtual meeting to discuss protocol. Central students weren’t the only ones who decided to strike on Friday; in fact, there was a plan for a national strike, protesting the recent acts of ICE with the message, “No work, No school, No shopping.” Some schools around the country were forced to close for the day due to a lack of staff. The nationwide strike was part of what influenced students at Central to put together their own form of protest.
Senior Reese Miller explained that she and her friends have been keeping up with the recent news events and felt inspired to get involved with the nationwide strike. “I knew that it would weigh on my friends and me forever if we didn’t do what we could to participate,” Miller said. While the walkout received quite a bit of traction across social media and the school, some students weren’t too sure about the idea.
One student, who wishes to remain anonymous, expressed disagreement with the protest. “I feel that the way it’s being handled isn’t the most mature.” The student also explained why he would not attend, “While I think civil protest is alright, I agree with civil protest…I feel like there are other ways we can handle it, besides protests.”
Senior Keegan Doyle did not attend the protest. “They don’t seem to really care about the deportations. They seem to care more about what they’re told about it. During the Ukraine War, when I was in middle school, they all jumped on that, and for a few days, you would see that. Then that dropped that rather quickly, then Gaza…then Venezuela happened, even though the Venezuelans were celebrating the capture of the dictator that killed thousands of them, people were saying that he was better than Trump. Then in Iran, they’re talking about how it’s a genocide in Gaza. So it seems rather performative and hypocritical, where it doesn’t seem they actually care.”
Senior Lucy Marshall also did not attend the protest and disagreed with the cause. “The purpose of ICE is good to remove illegal immigrants from the United States, but I definitely think that it could be changed, like led in a different direction. But just the whole idea to get rid of ICE as a whole…I just don’t support that.” Marshall expressed that she thinks it’s good for people to advocate for what they believe in, but also felt that some students were looked down upon for choosing not to attend. “People kind of had a negative look, like if you don’t go, it kind of made you seem like a terrible person,” Marshall shared.
Another student wanting to remain anonymous expressed some concern about both the walkout and the recent acts of ICE. “Yes, we got a lot of people in, but I’m also against taking away the wrong people. If they’re criminals, that’s fine…but when they’re non criminals and they’re just trying to get away from something bad…” the student said. One concern for students was the feedback from family and friends, “I mean, I’m nervous because what if it’s on the news and there’s a video of us and my family sees that, I feel like I would get in trouble,” the same student added.
Due to the walkout taking place across the street from the KWQC building, the crowd of students gained the attention of cameras and reporters. It also gained traction from social media posts of news outlets and statements from students and their parents. The reports of the walkout received mass amounts of both hate and love in the comment section. Some members of the community praised the kids for their use of the first amendment, while others expressed their concern of the origin of the walkout and asked if the students knew what they were protesting. Many students who participated in the walkout replied to these comments, explaining their reasoning.
Senior Micah Roldan, who helped organize the protest, was one who replied to the comments section: “Many of the students that protested are on honor roll every year. We protested because we are aware and educated on what is going on and we want change.” The students that reacted and responded online saw these comments as unfair and insulting of their educations and minds.
The students who attended the protest are proud of the efforts they put into organizing the walk, creating signs, and expressing their beliefs. Miller expressed that she believes you need to put yourself in someone else’s shoes when deciding your opinion on these political debates. “I think that if you can’t have the empathy to imagine yourself in a different situation than you are in, then that’s something that will define your opinion on everything in the political world that you see.”
The walkout was peaceful with no aggressive behavior or harm. The students organizing the event gave prior notice to the principals at Central, KWQC News, and to the Davenport Police. This situation gave the students of Central a chance to think of what their beliefs are on the current state of the world and government. The United States of America is a country with democracy and freedom: both the students who attended the event and those who didn’t, used their first amendment rights to make that decision.That’s what America is all about.
