'We still have voices and we deserve to be heard' Students throughout the Mat-Su walk out in protest of school board

Tuesday morning, high school students from across the Mat-Su Borough participated in a planned student walk-out in a non-violent, non-political protest the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) school board.

Organized by ak.walkforstudents, which is not affiliated with Alaska Student Voice, students from Su Valley Jr/Sr High, Houston High School, Palmer High School, Wasilla High School, Burchell High School, Colony High School, and Career and Technical High School (CTHS), along with at least one high school in Fairbanks, peacefully walked out of their schools at 10:00 am, and remained standing outside by the flagpoles of their respective schools for 56 minutes, the significance of the time representing one minute for each book that is under review by the school board and the Library Citizens Advisory Committee.

“I am not a fan of banning books. I’ve never been in support of book banning. I don’t think the school board should be taking any books out of the libraries. We should be able to choose if we want to read a book or not,” says Olivia Ruge, a sophomore at CTHS. But the challenged books were not the only reason she walked out.

“Overall, I think it’s just unfair, with all of these policy changes they’re making and then to take away the Student Advisor. Now that he can’t speak up, we have to take things into our own hands. That’s why we’re out here today.”

Ruge was not alone in voicing displeasure with the MSBSD school board and the recent changes to policies.

“I think the decisions the school board has made in regards to credit requirements to graduate, AP seminar, losing our Student Advisory Board Representative, all have shown that they are not really not valuing students’ ability to succeed in the future, as well as how well they work,” said Sam Holler, a senior at CTHS.

“We’re not statistics—we’re students.”

The protest was organized by students Lily Shea and Riley Blinn, who were careful to ensure guidelines were in place and followed so that other classmates and classes would not be disrupted, that there was to be no arguments or signs for or against any political candidates, and that it was not an opportunity to skip classes.

“This is a really big deal, and the election is in a week, and a lot of us can’t vote, but we still have a right to have a say in these things. We still have voices, and we deserve to be heard,” said Shea, who then thanked the nearly 150 CTHS students who participated in the walkout for supporting them and speaking up.

Ben Kolendo, the Student Advisory Board Representative, was on hand for the walkout, was happy to see students doing something very separate from Alaska Student Voice, with a message of their own, that if people are unhappy to get out and vote.

“They wanted this to stand for something separate, with a message to everyone to go vote. Elections are important and right now, it’s crucial that people go to that ballot and vote for who you think is the best to represent your voice.”

“I’m tired of the school board just ignoring us,” said Sam Midgett.

“Students have said time and time again that this is not what we want. But instead of listening to us, the school board is completely ignoring us.” She points to the board’s low approval rating from the students, but also from the teachers, and the Mat-Su Education Association, who recently issued a vote of ‘no confidence’ with over 91% of voters stating they had no confidence in the school board or the MSBSD superintendent, Dr. Randy Trani.

“The majority of people don’t have any faith in the school board, and yet they continue to do things, even though students are protesting, parents are protesting, community members are protesting.”

Adam Wargo believes that the school board has taken away students’ ability to speak and that the students banding together is an important part of participating in the process of change.

“I really care about student voices and it’s disheartening that school board is ignoring us, when they’re supposed to be the ones representing us and making our school experience better,” he said, and though he is not quite old enough to vote, looks forward to the chance when the time comes. His friend, Jaxson Boothby, who will be voting for the first time next week, agrees.

“The way I see it, they’ve taken away one of the few ways students have to speak and be represented, so we’re taking it upon ourselves.”

“I’m not a fan of what the district is doing, making us take AP classes that are above many students’ levels. I feel it’s not right for everyone in the school district. It seems like it’s an attempt to make our district look better without really considering the students’ needs,” she said.

Ruge believes that Alaska is a blue collar state and that vocational and trades education should be promoted. “This is a place where trades thrive, and it should be reflected with our school board.”

It’s estimated that over500 students participated in the walkout, with 160 students at Colony High School, 150 students at CTHS, with nearly the same numbers at Wasilla and Palmer, and Houston reporting 106 students walking out.

One social media post about the walkout, 500 people reacted to the students walking out, with the bulk of the comments in support of the students walking out as a way to protest. There were also a number of commenters who felt it wasn’t right for students to protest, and others who worried that the students could be punished for participating.

And to those in the community who feel that students should not be protesting, should not have the ability to walkout, and instead be in class, Holler says:

“As a student, I have a right to protest in school, so long as I am not disrupting the learning of others. We’re not in the building, we are doing our best to be respectful of others.”

Jillian Morrissey, the Chief Communications Officer for MSBSD, released a statement in response to the walkout:

“Students have the right to peacefully protest and the District has a long history of protecting that right. In recent years, and today, the district has protected the rights of the students to protest varied concerns including rallies for mask use in school, protests against mask use in schools, gun legislation at the state and national level, and today’s protest regarding the school board. The District knew about these walk-outs and worked with schools to make sure that the students were safe and unobstructed to exercise their right while simultaneously protecting the right to an uninterrupted learning day for the majority of students who chose to stay in class.”

When asked if she thinks the student-organized walkout would result in the school board listening or making any changes, Holler said she is hopeful that they will be heard.

“I don’t know if it will change anything for the school board itself. I think what we’re hoping here is to raise community awareness of the issues and how we, the students feel about it, so the community knows that students don’t favor these changes.”