KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Local students gathered in downtown Knoxville on Friday to protest the ongoing nationwide immigration crackdown. It was one of many demonstrations that took place across the country amid public outcry after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Despite warnings of disciplinary action, many students walked out of class to join the downtown march to World’s Fair Park. The protest was part of larger nationwide general strike that called for “no work, no school, no shopping” on Friday.
“Lots of folks are going to see that normal folks just like them are just fed up,” said Jeff Larsen, an adult who attended the protest. “And I hope that they see this and say those folks are right.”
Knox County Schools said in a statement to 6 News that students face disciplinary action for leaving school or disrupting class time.
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Knox County Schools supports the rights of students to express their beliefs and encourages civic engagement. As an education institution, we also place a high priority on the valuable amount of instructional time students have each day. As a result, we do not condone or approve of students walking out or arranging protests during instructional time. Students who choose to leave or disrupt the instructional setting will receive consequences commensurate to skipping class or disrupting the learning environment…