By now, you’ve probably heard about the walkout MTHS students staged on Feb. 17. The purpose of the walkout was to protest the unnecessary violence of the federal agency called Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It was a defining event of the 2025-2026 school year so far.
The four students who played the most prominent role in organizing the walkout were junior Salina Chauhan, senior Ethan Melinger, junior Claire Nauman and senior Brody Ketner. The planning process began in January, shortly after the killings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE agents.
For many of the organizers, the protest stemmed from the lack of empathy shown by ICE agents. And for Chauhan, the government’s anti-immigrant sentiment is very difficult to witness…