By Rebecca Gaunt

Cobb County School District students could be facing suspensions if they participate in the planned Friday walkouts to protest ICE’s actions in Minnesota, according to a message disseminated county-wide by district officials.

From the district: “We are aware of efforts by external groups to recruit students for a rally regarding ICE…Anyone who violates the Code of Conduct, including leaving class, skipping class, leaving authorized areas, unexcused absences, and/or disrupting the instructional day, will receive consequences in accordance with District policies. Those consequences include out-of-school suspension and the potential loss of parking privileges, sports, and extracurricular privileges. Each has long-lasting impacts that could be taken into account by college admission offices and future employers.” 

The planned walkouts follow protests across the country after the shooting deaths of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and Alex Pretti by border patrol agents in Minnesota. 

Read the district’s message in full here: Important Update about School Disruptions

The Courier spoke with some of the student organizers. Most gave permission for use of their names, however, an editorial decision was made not to identify them based on the AP’s best ethical practices for interviewing minors and prioritizing their safety, particularly given the current willingness of ICE and the CBP to violate American constitutional norms.

.M is one of the student organizers at Osborne High School.

In an email to the Courier, she wrote, “After the mass email was sent out it struck fear and rage to many students. Students are now scared to protest, which we shouldn’t be since it is a part of our First Amendment right, but Cobb County is saying that protesting will affect our college admissions as well as future jobs. You would think that colleges would be accepting of the fact that the students are informed, engaged, and ethical members of our community, ready to speak out for basic human rights. Angry is an understatement of our feelings.”

S, a junior at North Cobb High School, said the threat of suspension weakened the event, but not the students’ resolve. For him, the significance of taking action outweighs the possible consequences.

“A suspension is not worth hundreds of lives,” he said.

The organizers did say there is some consideration of alternative solutions to maximize participation, such as moving the protests to after school.

S was less enthused about that option.

“Part of the movement is to break away from the conformity and following orders…by deviating from the original plan, we lose a little bit of the movement,” he said.

L is also a junior at North Cobb and a member of Students United for Peace, which aims to unite high school and college students in action. 

“I couldn’t stand to sit by while I watched people be killed for doing nothing wrong. Even if I’m privileged to not have to worry,” he said.

He also called the district’s claim that external groups are behind the walkouts a “complete lie” and said planning for the event took place over a group chat consisting of about 30 students.

“We don’t know who is behind the Instagram, but the students are the ones putting in the elbow grease to make it happen. There is no adult that’s organizing these protests,” L said. 

The Instagram account in question is abolish.ice.georgia. Five days ago, the account began posting flyers for walkouts at various Georgia high schools, some of which are in Cobb. The account’s bio says it is run by students, but some parents have questioned the source on social media.

L said, “We started organizing and then word started spreading…the Instagram came later but it blew up the attention.”

The organizers at Wheeler High School also responded to the claim about outside influences in an email.

“They proclaim that ‘external groups’ are attempting to ‘recruit students’ to walk out, but these ‘groups’ consist of Wheeler’s own students, students who are worried for their community, their friends, families, and themselves. They say that this protest ‘disrupt[s] school operations and distract[s] students and teachers,’ but in reality, what we are doing is quite the opposite; we are students who simply want a better future, and how will we get one if our students do not even feel safe in their own school? What is CCSD doing to protect the children of the future?”

The email went on to say, “Wheeler students are some of the top-performing and civically engaged students in the country, and we only want to be able to exercise our voice peacefully and appropriately. We cannot dismiss the state of our country and our community, and we will not sit in silence, because we care about our people.”

The Courier reached out to the Instagram account to ask about the identities of the people behind it and received this response:

Thank you for reaching out. We want to be very clear. This account is run entirely by high school students. There are no outside adults involved in running, directing, or “recruiting” students through this page. We are students organizing alongside other students who want their voices heard. Any accusations suggesting adult control are false. Participation has been voluntary, student-led, and focused on student concerns within our schools.

Read Cobb’s discipline policy in full here.