Mira Costa students at last week’s Trump protest aim to ‘inspire’ change
From left, Mira Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale, and students Sage Gill, Shelby Friedman, Carly Malone, Dalia Feliciano, and Luke Potdevin march down Artesia Boulevard en route to City Hall last week, in protest of Donald Trump’s election. Photo by Anna Harntawweethong
by Parnia Mazhar
The adults of America physically and verbally fought after hearing that Donald Trump was to be their new president. The students of Mira Costa High School chose to take a more peaceful approach when expressing their discontent.
Through the sounds of cars honking and people cursing, around 100 Mira Costa High School students held their heads high as they engaged in a protest on Nov. 14 expressing their disagreements with the views of President-elect Donald Trump. Accompanied by principal Dr. Ben Dale, students marched from the school campus to Manhattan Beach City Hall.
“The purpose of the walk was to show that the students of Mira Costa have valid opinions that should be heard elsewhere besides amongst ourselves,” said protester Dalia Feliciano, a junior at Costa. “A lot of us aren’t old enough to vote, so I think this was a pertinent way to express our anger and fear regarding the results of the election.”
At the scene of the protest, students participated in organized chants, made posters, spoke to community political leaders and exchanged ideas regarding the recent election. Some students gave speeches expressing their views.
“The protest shined a light on the controversy of the election,” said protester Kyra Dates, a junior. “It caused people to sit down and have discussions with each other about important issues in our country that should be addressed such as sexism, racism, et cetera.”
Some students who did not have any specific connection with the protest felt that it lacked purpose, because it would not alter the results of the election.
“I fully recognize that students’ have the right to express their personal opinion about anything,” said junior Tony Shar. “But I think the protest was somewhat pointless because a small protest in a community like ours or even a large protest in a huge city won’t necessarily make a difference in the presidential election.”
Video by Tate Hildyard
Protesters said that their purpose was not to change the results of the election but rather to make people more aware of important issues and to make a long-lasting impact on the community.
“I think it is immature for people to judge protests based on them not being ‘effective,’ because whether they agree with the cause or not, almost every movement in American history has had something to do with protesting,” Dates said. “Even if it seems small and like it won’t affect the country, it gets people talking about important issues and people become more involved with politics.”
Others expressed how the protest was an important way for students to get people to hear their views. Many felt fear and exasperation regarding the outcomes of the election, so they were glad that they had this event to civilly get these feelings across.
“These kinds of things are all about getting your voice heard,” said student and protester Noah Geller. “People complain about how pointless the protest was, but there isn’t supposed to be a practical side to it. It’s more about inspiring change than causing it outright.”
Geller’s mother supported his decision to participate and gave him permission before he left for the protest.
“Some of the parents who are sharply criticizing our kids for missing two classes are the ones who freely extend the district breaks for their personal travel needs — that’s not our style,” said his mother, Sarah Geller. “But if my kid wants to tune in and motivate politically, he has my total support.”
Many were also impressed and thankful to Dale’s actions and response towards the protest.
“I was incredibly impressed with the way Ben Dale handled the situation,” Geller’s mother said. “These kids are our future and are allowed to voice their opinions, and telling people to sit down and shut up is never productive.”
Parnia Mazhar is a junior at Mira Costa High School.