Kahliem Clark, a senior at Overland High School, raises his hand in protest Dec. 5 at the Aurora Municipal Center. Clark was just one of hundreds of students from Aurora high schools that joined a nationwide protests in response to New York and Missouri grand juries returning no indictments against police officers. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)

AURORA | Hundreds of students from six Aurora high schools walked out of school Friday at 10 a.m., joining nationwide protests in response to New York and Missouri grand juries returning no indictments against police officers.

Around 400 students walked from Gateway, Overland, Rangview, Hinkley and Aurora Central high schools toward the Aurora Municipal Center.

Aurora police shut lanes of East Mississippi Avenue, South Abilene Street and other Aurora roads to accommodate the students.

Dozens of police officers were on hand and the atmosphere was largely positive, with one police officer high-fiving students as they walked to the courthouse.

Patti Moon, a spokeswoman for Aurora Public Schools, said school officials estimate between 300 and 400 students from APS participated in the walkout. The students came from Hinkley, Aurora Central, Gateway and Rangeview high schools, as well as a few from Columbia and Aurora Hills middle schools, she said.

If parents call to excuse a student’s absence the absence will be excused, Moon said.

Moon said the issues that lead to the walkout will likely be discussed in civics and other classes in the coming days.

“That certainly is a discussion that school leaders are having with students,” she said.

Still, Moon said, while the school supports students raising their voices, they prefer them to be in the classroom.

“We also emphasize that every minute they are in the classroom and learning is important,” she said.

Students from Cherry Creek School District also participated in the walkout. Students from Overland High School and Prarie Middle School marched to the municipal center, while students from Smoky Hill High School marched to the Nine Mile light rail station.

Tustin Amole, a spokeswoman for the district, said no students would be disciplined for taking part in the walkout. School officials notified parents of students who walked out, she said.

Amole said the district sent busses to the municipal center to pick up students after the rally, but only a few dozen students rode the busses back to school.

Among the roughly 200 Rangeview students marching from the school to city hall were 16-year-old juniors James Falope and Teron Blanton. Both said they opted to walk out of school because they were upset that the officers who killed New York man Eric Garner weren’t indicted.

Falope said that in the St. Louis Mike Brown case, he saw some justification for the police action considering Brown punched officer Darren Wilson before being shot. But in Garner’s death, the teens said it seemed completely unnecessary.

“He really didn’t do anything,” Falop said.

The pair said that they haven’t had problems with local police.

“So far it has been pretty safe,” Blanton said as the pair walked along East Iliff Avenue and South Buckley Road.

But, the pair said, as young black men they still worry about future contacts with police considering the recent news.

As the Rangeview students marched east along Iliff, passing cars and pedestrians cheered them on.

Niecy Banks and Donna Reed, who cheered the crowd from a parking lot at Iliff and Buckley, said they were proud of what the students were doing.

Reed, who has three sons at Rangeview, said the walkout is a good way for students to send a message that the recent killings and lack of indictments won’t be tolerated.

“At some point someone needs to listen,” she said.

Reed said the problem stems from a fear among police officers of young blacck men, something she said she warns her three black sons about.

“There is no escaping it as long as you are black and you are a youth,” she said.

Banks and Reed said their sons are well behaved and good students, but they still worry about thei contacts wth police. Banks, who has a son at Regis Jesuit High School and a nephew at Rangeview said she warns her family to be extra careful when pulled over, including turning on their dome light and putting their hands on the dash.

“I shouldn’t have to tell them that,” she said.

97 replies on “Aurora students walk out of class, join nationwide protest”

  1. Lemmings. Supporting a guy who was committing a crime (albeit a small one) but who refused to cooperate with the police..

    These last couple months have been the worst for America… Supporting criminals.

  2. So why is it that they see it necessary to do this during school time? What was wrong with after school or maybe on the weekend?
    A grand jury is composed of average citizens, anywhere from 12 to 23 citizens can be involved. Typically there is no defense presented only evidence to support the reasons for going to trial… basically.
    For these students to disagree with the grand jury is their prerogative but exactly what do they want done?
    Would they rather that we do away with grand juries and just go by popular/public opinion on whether to proceed with charges?
    Do any of these students want to be tried by popular/public opinion if they are involved in an incident?
    These protests is a mob rule mentality, we have a process that we use to determine a person’s guilt and that process was used. The process is not perfect but much closer to it than mobs deciding someone’s guilt.

      1. Are you saying that the city encouraged/organized this walk-out/protest?

        The city values your education? I would hope that you would value your own education and do the work necessary to get the best value. Was the purpose of the protests to learn something?
        If so, what did you learn from this protest?

        1. What we learned was that we have the FREEDOM OF SPEECH. We also have rights, we do value our education. Yet, what we learn in history class is we have RIGHTS, that there is suppose to be justice in the world, but their is not. It was a great opportunity, so many kids learned so much from our walkout, and we hope we got our point across.

          1. Ok, what is the message you would like to send? The message I get is that you wanted to walk out of class for the fun of it.
            What was accomplished?
            Your point?? What would you change? Give me some answers.

          2. How do you think from all I just said that I wanted to walk out of class for fun. I felt so passionate about that topic, thats way we had our walk out. And the message im trying to get across here is that EVERYONE has the freedom of speech, has rights, correct me if im wrong but thats what it says in The Bill of Rights? I know we are not always gonna have justice in the world we live in, but then why when we stand for the flag it says “And justice for all” There was no justice in what happened , and what keeps happening. What we accomplished is that we had our voices heard, we stood up for what we believed in. Grown ups are always telling us to do that, so tell me why when we do, they shot us down and say we are wrong for doing so? And also if I just walked out of school for the fun of it, how do you know that I would’nt pay for it when I get home. Or things could have gone wrong. Think of the consciousness that could have happened for that, and just for ‘fun’?

          3. I was a kid once, its not a lot different today. What I hear from you is platitudes but nothing specific. C’mon give me something specific.
            You didn’t have to walk out of school to have your freedom of speech – to be heard. Whether the march/protests were during school hours or after school or on the weekend they still give you the freedom of speech you desire.

            Do you think an example of justice would be Darren Wilson being charged now that there has been protests?

            I think the process that we have was used correctly, to me that is justice – it is what we have in place, I cannot say that it was a correct decision from the grand jury it may not have been but the process was followed. You cannot conclusively say that the grand jury was wrong either.
            What part of this process was not justice? Your right to free speech is to communicate what should be changed… What should be changed?

          4. Fine how about this, to show ther eisno justice, the part of the process that was not justice was that they DIDN’T charge him, i mean Michael dis as the policed said, he put his hands up, yet he still shoot him, and not just once, but about 9 times, i get it that officers are trained to shoot first, but once you pull out a gun it isnt just like you shoot and thats it, he are dealing with a life. We didnt just protest for freedom of speech, but OUR believes, and you, that already ha slived as a kid and teen should know that it is hard to put our thoughts out there, afraid of being shot down be everyone, being ignored, it takes guts to do somethong like that. We did that because there was no justice, there has been no jutice, and some are sick and tired of it. But dont you ever say that we did it for fun, becasue god knows how many kids went home to parents screaming at them, or even worse, just so that they can stand up, be heard, and maybe feel like they have a voice for once. And our protest was not just for what happened if Michael Brown, but every else aeound the world where people cant say what they think, cant have rights. Im still 14 so i dont know how to express my thoughts clearly, yet i do know this, “Justice for all” means that everyone gets treated equally, no matter what race, class, background you come from, the same goes for as in punishment. This protest was the highlight of our generation, cause all that this generation is about is making YouTube videos, Tweeting, Posting a facebook comment. This protest was us finally not caring what others say, to put ourselfs out there no matter how many will tell us to stop. The sky is not the limite when man kind has gone to the moon and farther.

          5. He NEVER put his hands up! That has been proven, if anything, he may have put them out to his sides, black for ‘you want some of this’? NEVER ‘hands up, don’t shoot’ which became the rallying cry, as wrong and ignorant as that is. Sharpton uses it too, doesn’t that tell any of you on the left something?

          6. Yes. Everyone has rights. And everyone has choices. If I were you I would make the choice to spend every fiber of your being getting to the best college you can. And on the way do not listen to anyone who isn’t successful. Friends, parents, teachers, anyone, unless they are successful and out of that area you are living in.
            The grown ups are telling you to do this? Look at those grown ups carefully, do they know what it takes to be successful?
            Get out. Let everyone else protest. You should be home studying while this nonsense is going on. If you make the choice to go along with the crowd, and the crowd is full of losers, then look around and see your future.
            Stay in school and you are going to realize that the bill of rights applies to the people who have money and can give you opportunity. You know what? They don’t have to mentor and hire you. Think about it. Make your own justice. Don’t have booze in your car and keep your id with you. Some cops are psycho, and it isn’t just blacks who worry about them.

          7. It was MIDDLE school kids that walked out also, 12-14 year olds that, at such a young age, knew what justice ment for them, knew when it was used or not, and thats just amazing, how kids can be so passionate about something, that they will walk out, go protest for something they believe in, after they know what consequent they may have.

          8. It use to be, when people were truly educated, that it was understood that our rights are related to duties we have. God gives us a duty to perform, but He also gives the rights we need to fulfill that duty. Since these children do not yet have these duties, then they do not have these rights.

            Keep on believing your rights come from your government. Chains await you.

    1. Grand juries are a problem. They seemed like a good idea but the grand jury only hears one side and if the prosecution doesn’t want to show the dark side of police, there is no indictment. We expect the prosecution to protect our rights. Kudos to the kids for recognizing we are supposed to have rights. Recognizing we have rights, of which Freedom of Speech and Peaceful Assembly are some of our most cherished, is more than many adults here seem to know.

      Mob rule? Are you joking?

      Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

  3. These are the programmed liberal racists being produced by your school teachers…..SEE when you have racist, bigoted and lying teachers you end up with extremists….these people have no idea what the facts are and just listen to those lying biased school teachers that program them to hate. You need to fire all those school teachers.

    1. How are we extremists if we literally protested within peaceful means the entire time? Our teachers were mostly annoyed with our decision to march, but you wouldn’t know that because you don’t go to our schools and you cannot tell people lies about our schools and our protest

      1. You stupid cow….there were interviews with the protesters and many said their teachers wanted them to go protest….this is liberal scum programming by your teachers to inject politics into the schools. Learn something other than liberal hate you idiot.

        1. Indiana, you have been insulting and name-calling throughout this string. I’m not talking about what you’re saying, but terms like ‘stupid cow’, ‘liberal scum’, ‘stupid’, etc. I have a sense that you’re not a very nice person and I hope that rather than taking you seriously, people begin to ignore your comments. They’re uninformed, unsupported and downright ignorant. Bye now.

      2. You leaving your “studies” is disordered and by definition not peaceful. You robbed the taxpayers and are a thief.

        1. Aldo, what they did is as American as apple pie. Take a deep breath and calm down. The world is still here and the learning goes on, inside and outside of the classroom.

          1. He home schools his children, so I think we know who the real theif is. Aldo raising the weirdos. @ Aldo you have robbed your children of diversity and a non-bigoted education. You are a true crook. Stop picking on middle school students.

    2. AND if you were there you’d know that not only did we, as protesters, state that black lives DO IN FACT matter, but we did not exempt any race from being important. Just because you think your racial superiority is being normalized doesn’t mean every voice is a racist. You’re disgusting.

      1. You are not getting it stupid…..they have been programmed by liberal scum like yourself that there is a police problem when there isn’t. If they knew what the facts were there wouldn’t be a protest…..they don’t care about facts only to cause problems.

        1. We did our research, well some did, but I don’t think there is a problem with the police, no, there is a problem with justice, there is no justice, and we as protesters made that clear. Well at least I hope so.

          1. “there is a problem with justice” which means absolutely nothing…and I guess we are to all fantasize someone getting punished for something when you make a statement like that? I guess that makes you look stupid because no one has been charged with any crime and the laws in the US don’t bow to protesters demands on what they think should be done…SO your ranting about there is no justice…if you don’t like the way the judicial systems works in the country…get your stupid ass out.

          1. Brandon, I’ve run into “Indiana” on another editorial. He appears to be major hot head who chooses to live inside of the bubble of his own version of reality. Critical thinking is something I think he’s allergic to. 🙂

          2. Brandon, I ran into “Indiana” in comments on another article. I think he spends a lot of time spewing his hot-headed anger in these strings. I’d just ignore him if I were you. People like “Indiana” are haters who prefer to live inside the bubble of the reality they’ve created for themselves. I sometimes wonder if people like Indiana are allergic to unbiased critical thinking.

            And Brandon, you exercised your right to free speech, something that we have a right to do in this democracy. Hurray for you! I suspect that you learned as much from that exercise as anything you might have learned in any class time you may have missed. Keep it up. You’re our future.

    3. Why is it when a story is printed that you don’t appreciate, it appears that you lash out and talk down to everyone. You may want to seek professional help. These kids have a freedom of speech, but I think the problem is that this freedom doesn’t give them an exemption to consequences. Consequences for their actions killed those people, nothing more.

  4. The kids who went today, december 5th 2014, where East middle school kids, Hinkly, North middle school, and others, we went because we believe we have the freedom of speech, we have rights, and for all the injustice that is happening around the world. Not just for what happened with machael brown, but for every injustice happening around the world. If you where there you would have seen just how passionate we were ok. And as to why during school, well it is easier to join people together, and becaus in school they are always saying ‘You have the right at the choices you make in life, you have freedom of speech, use it’ and we did. You should have seen East Middle School kids. Kids at the age of 12-14 know what justice isto them, know what it means, and know when it is used or not, and they stood up to speak their minds. It was not just high school students, but middle school ones as well.

    1. What was wrong with after school?
      If your passionate about what you believe why would you need it to be “easier”… shouldn’t you have plenty of people to support your cause without using public resources?
      Please give me examples of the injustices around the world that can be solved by these protests.

      1. Maybe because we are still teens 13-17 year olds, its like when people go on a strick at work, except we did it at school. And maybe ,yea, nothing may be solved by these protests, but at least they heard our voice, we put our thoughts out there, after we knew people will judge us for it.

    2. “in school they are always saying ‘You have the right at the choices you make in life, you have freedom of speech, use it’ ”
      You school is run by neo Marxists.

      1. Aldo, what is a neo Marxist and could you tell me specifically who at the school is a neo Marxist? Or are you just spewing out verbal filth from your ignorant right-wing cesspool?

        1. Aldo teaches his kids, he must skip the whole communism thing, so they do not really understand what a Marxist is. Because he obviously has no idea what it really means. I am sure his children get 50% of their education from FOX news. But hey its a free country as proven by these great kids standing up for what they believe in.

  5. I am not amused that dozens of kids from my son’s middle school walked out the door today and very little was done to stop them.

    1. Well they could’nt do anything. Teachers do not have the right to touch us. And like in my school they said that they didnt stop us because, we as peopel, also have rights.

      1. Very proud of each and every student that
        demonstrated their passionate concern
        for justice FOR ALL PEOPLE. You’ll have
        to excuse the so-called “grown ups” that
        have called you names and don’t get it.
        They are cowards who sit in their homes
        and type hateful words to those who have
        literally put themselves out there to make
        their point. WAY TO GO STUDENTS!

      2. Of course you have rights: unalienable rights endowed by your Creator.
        You also have natural rights that, as an American citizen, are afforded
        you by the Bill of Rights. Among these are the right to peaceable
        assembly and, of course, freedom of speech. However, middle school kids
        walking out of school without their parents’ permission to join a group of
        high school students is reckless. There are middle school students as
        young as 10. You have the right to make your voice heard but, as Brain
        said, you should do it on your own time. Skipping school to do so
        undermines your agenda because people will assume that you’re being a
        slacker. Demonstrate responsibly and I assure you, people will listen.

        I admire your passion and willingness to stand up for your beliefs. You seem like a bright kid. Do your research on the big picture of what’s happening in these cases and why the grand juries aren’t indicting. Make your own decisions based on facts, not solely emotion. Harness that idealism in a productive way and you’ll have a very successful future.

        1. Some kids did have parent permission, and on our own time, don’t you think that we did it during school because people listen better. And a lot of us did do research, we know both sides of the story, because we took our time researching, befor we went out. And we did do it on fact, but if you put emotion into something, you get get something that comes from the heart, yet it is the right thing.

          1. Then you read and saw the blood in the police car and on Officers Wilsons clothing where Brown had control of the weapon, and Wilson twisted it away from himself when gun went off. First 2 shots was inside the vehicle with bullet still in door . So the story of hands up, and giving up was complete lie. Witnesses who actually appeared before Grand Jury testified that after that, Brown ran away, then turned and charged Wilson with head down, when he was shot, and fell.
            And you also learned that NY State changed law of tobacco sales to age 21 and up in 2014. 18 to 23 had been buying, but also providing tobacco to younger folks ( 12 through 18), when that is most addictive. Warned by police, with shop keeps complaining to council, police of individuals selling individual cigarettes outside their stores and blocking customers from doors for 75 cents. Store paid $300 to $400 for permit, all the taxes ($4.85 for state, and $1.50 for city) on each pack to sell, so they were upset. High taxes on tobacco was to discourage smoking among youth and adults. And you also learned that smoking had dropped from 18% to 13%, which means lot of folks should not get cancer, heart problems and other death dealing diseases in future.
            But with your research, I am sure you learned all this, and also read the testimony released by both Grand Juries. You waited to get all the facts (truth). So why are you marching, demonstrating, out classes if you learned all this?
            I am grandfather, father of age 60 up children who have children, and at risk of being thought frugal, am upset that my property tax is $3.30 per day on property tax for all in school region 28J. And I would prefer our police be doing something other than guarding children on our streets and sidewalks, when they should be in school. Can learn so much more there, and still express 1st amendment rights, plus other rights. I suspect most parents would believe you are safer there too, with all those now using alcohol, drugs, and so many who do not know driving laws and try to drive on sidewalks. (ref: all those mowed down across country on sidewalks or vehicles losing control and driving into stores).

        2. You must be the product of the government school system too. The Bill of Rights does not give anyone any rights. It merely lists rights (or restrictions on the government) given by God.

  6. Nothing but a bunch of stupid morons skipping school and waving their hands in the air. It used to be, when a law officer said “halt”, you stopped where you stood and said “Yes Sir”. Not anymore with these uneducated ghetto-raised criminals.

    1. Dont be calling us stupid, cause most of the kids that ment from my school are in all advanced classes, so i don’t know how we are ‘stupid morons’ and if you see the videos the police did NOT try to stop us they encouraged us to keep going

      1. Don’t, not dont.

        Because not cause.

        Went not ment.

        Run-on sentences, poor grammar, improper English.

        I think you made your point simply by displaying your lack of education and fundamental grammar skills.

  7. The policeman in the video high-fiving students was sarcastically high fiving us, saying “Good job on walking out on your education”

  8. Good. My homeschooled children will look even better by comparison when applying for college.

    “Evil always wins through the strength of its splendid dupes; and there has in all ages been a disastrous alliance between abnormal innocence and abnormal sin.” ― G.K. Chesterton, Eugenics and Other Evils: An Argument Against the Scientifically Organized State

    1. At least you get to keep them in the bubble. Don’t go teaching them that all races should be treated equal. Keep up the fight, see where the bubble gets them. And no home school kids do not look better when applying for college. Often they struggle to get admitted to college. But hey at least they get to share your closed minded views on things. Ooh and you get to teach them your bigoted ways. Yay home school!

    2. Yes they will! I congratulate you sincerely on your intelligent decision. I can state with almost certainty that you are able to provide a superior education than anything being spewed at Aurora Public School District.

      The only contrary point of view i can express, is that your successful family will probably be strapped with additional taxes to pay for the entitlements being consumed by the “HANDS UP, DON’T SHOOT” protesters.

  9. You have authority figures telling these kids to go out and protests…..you either respect the courts decision or you don’t…apparently the people in authority don’t respect the law.

  10. Why are they marching for a criminal, and a guy who died of heart attack. Brown actually shot himself when he had control of Officer Wilsons gun (read Grand Jury statement and that of Officer Wilson to explain gun struggle). Then also read the Grand Jury report Eric Garner. He resisted arrest, officers took him down and cuffed him. Then took much effort and time to get him on gurney, and into ambulance. He had heart attack in ambulance about an hour after being cuffed. But he was smuggling untaxed cigarettes, selling by the piece. NY State changed law where youth had to be 21 or older to buy tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Reason: 18 to 21 had been legal, but found to also buy for those as young as 12-13 through 17, plus other stuff. So law was changed, tax added by state of $4.85 a pack, and city added $1.50 to that. Merchants complained to police and city, about the smuggling because they not only had to pay for products (tax and tobacco) to have for sale, and also pay $300 to $400 for permit to sell tobacco. Garner had been standing outside their stores for past 3 years selling to anyone for 75 cents per cigarette, and creating problems. They complained to city and police, who had to take action. They cannot just walk away when he resisted. And he died in ambulance.—————Now is it not kind of stupid to miss school hours, when so many are washing out, or failing in grade school, high school, and if they do try going to college, have to take remedial courses. Every hour lost now, will be much more difficult to make up later. ————–And as a tax-payer, I have no children in any of the Aurora Schools, yet it cost me $3.30 per day toward highest cost of my property tax in 28J Aurora. As a senior of fixed pension, I resent them being a media event, and not learning history, mathematics, geography and science. They will regret that in later years, just as so many have before them. And I fault staff, teachers for not discussing this accurately, with all the advantages you have now at our expense. In the 1940s when I went to school, getting reference books or material was weeks away. Now with computer you can have printed info in minutes.

  11. When I say Brown shot himself, first two shots was in car during struggle. Officer Wilson then had control of gun, Brown ran away, then turned -challenged Wilson, then charged him. And Officer Wilson had no other solution but to shoot into head and body of charging, angry, Brown who was on drugs. Also I suspect Alcohol, since Grand Jury summary indicates he had been up at 1:16 AM and then met Johnson at 7:00 AM. No info on that gap of time, but he may not have had sleep, and was coming down off drugs.

  12. More ignorance, protesting for a thug and bum in Ferguson, looting and burning, and now the dummies in Aurora have done the same, pure lunacy. This isn’t a ’cause’ this is getting out of school, and becoming ‘one of many’ dopes.

  13. If you are teaching your kids how to be fearful when approached and in exchanges with law enforcement people the ideal situation would be to yell and protest no matter what the “victim’s” background was. This would assure a constant degree of dissension would be present and something I call “infectious irrationality ” begins its insidious work. I.I. will guarantee continued racial animosity on both sides, contribute to lots racist type thinking and propel the self-fulfilling prophecy of criminality in our communities by black people. My thinking is that this is a horrible legacy to leave to our young people who have done nothing more than happen to born black. Add to this the aid and comfort it is now giving to any and all of the entities who wish to do harm to our great country. As a double term Air Force veteran and American first, I view all of of these developments with a high degree of repulsion.

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  15. hen you read and saw the blood in the police car and on Officers Wilsons clothing where Brown had control of the weapon, and Wilson twisted it away from himself when gun went off. First 2 shots was inside the vehicle with bullet still in door . So the story of hands up, and giving up was complete lie. Witnesses who actually appeared before Grand Jury testified that after that, Brown ran away, then turned and charged Wilson with head down, when he was shot, and fell. Mothers Day 2015

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