Approximately 250 students from Chief Sealth International High School staged a walkout Nov 14 in protest of the election of Donald Trump. Propelled by loud voices, banners, signs and a sense of uncertainty, the young people assembled across the street, chanted and briefly blocked one lane of Thistle Street SW.
It was a peaceful gathering, as some banners and shirts read "Love Trumps Hate" and "Will trade 1 Trump for 10,000 refugees," and others carried LGBTQ rainbow flags or signs.

Senior Lucas Skelly spoke to the crowd and said, "As humans we have the power to control our ability to treat other humans with kindness, compassion, consideration and respect and how are we going to do that when our figurehead is trying to break that from the America we know and have been trying to improve"

He went on the say he woke up after the election “not from a racist bashing in my door or a white supremacist telling me what to do but with the fear that, that might happen. It’s crazy to think we’ve been working toward equality and equity but now we have to protect it.”

Another student, Mary, who said she was fearful her family might have to leave the country and go to Canada. Speaking about her fears for both the LGBTQ community and the Hispanic community. She said while her family were not illegal aliens. "It's hard enough to live undocumented. It's just going to get harder."

The event was planned and coordinated via social media and took place at West Seattle High School and other Seattle area schools as well.