On Jan. 30, 2026, students from Archie Williams left school early to participate in a protest against Operation Metro Surge, an ongoing operation conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At 11:50 a.m., Archie Williams students congregated on the Devonshire Hall quad and, after a brief rally cry from junior Carthan Scheiber, began walking down Sir Francis Drake Boulevard toward the intersection of Sir Francis Drake and Center Boulevard. There, they were met by students from the San Domenico School, The Branson School, and White Hill Middle School, along with members of the San Anselmo community, at approximately 12:45 p.m.

Upon arriving at the Sir Francis Drake and Center Boulevard intersection at approximately 12:10 p.m., protesters gathered on each corner of the intersection, held signs, and led chants for vehicles passing by. At approximately 1:02 p.m., Archie Williams Associated Student Body (ASB) members prompted participants to begin walking toward the San Anselmo Town Hall.

The ASB organized the event and used social media to promote awareness throughout the school community. Petra Betti, ASB Junior Class President, developed the idea earlier this week.

“Every Monday in ASB, we talk about a different aspect of leadership, and this week’s was risk-taking. I brought up that [school administrators] shoot [down] a lot of political stuff, so why don’t we just don’t we take a risk and do something that we think will be good, even if we don’t know the consequences,” Petra said.

As word spread, other schools caught on. Mila Dawson, the San Domenico Junior Class President, mentioned how she helped rally students from her school to join the cause.

“We [wanted to all gather here] as the San Anselmo school community. I think it’s really cool that we get to use our community in [this way],” Mila said.

Most students were motivated to attend the protest by their concerns regarding law enforcement issues. Sophomore Xander Santucci felt compelled to speak out because of recent events in Minneapolis.

“People have been shot and killed, and ICE has been abusing its power. I think that it needs to be shown that we care about our nation, we don’t stand for our administration, and our police force [should be] doing things that aren’t morally wrong and unconstitutional,” Xander said.

On Jan. 29, Archie Williams Principal Jacob Gran sent a message notifying the school community of the walkout the next day. A student from the Branson School who requested to remain anonymous explains that administrators from his school were more active in supporting student and staff participation.

“Branson was definitely encouraging. We had a few teachers march out, and teachers were very [tolerant with students who chose to] miss class,” said a Branson student.

While students were not excused from class or encouraged to participate in the walkout by the Archie Williams administration, staff members stood by students in their decision to skip class. 

“We really support our students in this district, and believe in them, and want them to exercise their rights safely and legally,” said Archie Williams Spanish teacher Erin Gilbert. “I think that it’s really important to express freedom of speech and to speak out against something… We’re living in a very crucial time where we all need to find an outlet to speak out about what we feel is important and what we believe in.”

Assigned teachers and faculty, including Kyle Kassebaum, an Archie Williams counselor, supervised the protest for its full duration in order to ensure safety. 

“We planned as an [administration] that we wanted to come out and support our students’ safety. [None of us] were forced to come out here by any stretch, but it still feels like we’re doing our job [since] it’s the school day and we have kids out in the street,” Kassebaum said.

According to Archie Williams senior and ASB president Alia Torres Cardenas, student ASB members coordinated with the San Anselmo Police Department in addition to the Archie Williams administration. 

“[ASB] planned basically everything. We coordinated with the police and [mapped out] where we were going to go,” Alia said. “We told [the Archie Williams administration that] this is what we’re doing, this is how we’re gonna do it, and you can support us or not, but nonetheless, we’re going to do it.”

Lasting from 11:50 a.m. to approximately 2 p.m., Alia believes that the walkout was an excellent way for students to make their views known and hopes that it inspires positive change ahead.

“I hope that our voices are heard, and we’re speaking for those who cannot, and people know that we’re here for them. What’s happening right now is not right, and we’re standing up for it as youth [members of the community]. Everyone’s bringing so much energy… It makes me hopeful that things will end [well],” Alia said.

Correction note: We removed the name of a source from this story at their request to protect their privacy. The story was republished March 5, 2026.

Gallery • 17 Photos

Zoe Levy

A group of students hold up a banner reading "We Speak for Those Who Can't" during the walkout.