Westfield High School Students Walk Out To Raise Awareness Of Palestinian Plight

CHANTILLY, VA — About 40 students exercised their First Amendment rights Thursday morning by staging a walkout at Westfield High School. Their goal was to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people, as well as others living in Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Manal Khalid, an 18-year-old senior and one of the protest's organizers, was inspired to demonstrate by the recent killing of U.S.-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh. May 15 was also the 74th anniversary of Nakba Day, which, for Palestinians, marks the establishment of the State of Israel and the displacement of Palestinian Arabs. During the protest, Khalid and some of the other female students wore Keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.

"We've had walkouts in the past at our school," Khalid said. "We thought that we would have another one for this. It's not like we're telling the school do something about it. As students, we have the power to spread awareness and teach our peers. We're not only learning from our teachers, but we can become like them to teach our peers about what's happening."

Thursday's walkout was more about human rights than politics, according to Khalid.

"We have the authority to go out there and say what we believe is right, and that we don't have to sit around, posting on social media and that we could actually get up and do something," she said.

At 10:15 a.m., the students participating in the walkout exited the school building and gathered on the sidewalk near the outdoor basketball courts. They made a few speeches, shouted chants, and then marched across the parking lot to the public sidewalk along Stonecroft Boulevard.

Once they made their way back to where they'd started, the marchers disbanded and headed back to class.

The protest's organizers were pleased with the number of people who participated in the march, although having a big turnout was not their primary purpose.

"I'm glad that students who really cared about the issue that's happening in Palestine came out," she said. "We had some great speeches, so people could listen and learn instead of just protesting without an idea of what's happening."

Hajra Muhammed, an 18-year-old senior, was glad that students had the opportunity to have their voices heard.

"It was great to see everyone come out and support all the different countries that are having many issues," she said. "I was pleased to see our fellow students come out and show their support for people from other countries. A lot of us that are in our last senior year were able to raise our voices and spread the news to everyone."