On Jan. 20, 2026, schools around the country participated in a walkout to protest the recent murder of Renee Good, as well as the other actions of the Trump Administration. This school was one of them, and I was one of the students who participated. To be completely honest, due to the relatively brief turnaround between the walkout’s scheduling and execution, I had low expectations for the event’s turnout. However, upon arrival, I was instantly proven wrong.

Approximately 300 students marched to the city hall in below freezing temperatures. I saw dozens and dozens of carefully crafted signs. The entire way down, people were marching without complaint and loudly chanting their demands for democracy and due process. People I hadn’t expected to involve themselves in politics showed up to make their voices heard. All in all, I have never felt as proud of this school as I did that day.

However, my enthusiasm was instantly dampened upon opening Instagram. The walkout was covered by local news outlet “Current,” and the post instantly blew up on social media, gleaning over 1,100 comments within a week. There were numerous positive comments, yes, but these positive comments felt insignificant compared to the negative ones. The words “indoctrination” and “uneducated” were thrown around on repeat, but the most popular comments were the ones calling the walkout “performative activism.”

Performative activism, typically defined as supporting a social issue or movement as a way to garner attention from others, is a nasty Catch-22. In today’s political climate, with fearmongering and violence running rampant, the worst thing anyone can do is stay silent. Silence does nothing but promote a culture of bigotry and hatred, but the second a group of high school students exercise their first amendment rights, the phrase “performative activism” gets thrown around like it’s nothing. Maybe a school walkout won’t change the world, but it could absolutely inspire others to use their voices in the same way. Peaceful protests send a message to everyone affected by the issue at hand– a message that says “you are not alone.” The value of messages like these should not be underestimated under any circumstances.

Student activism as a whole is more important than people realize. A lot of the time, adults will tell teenagers that their political beliefs are just a direct reflection of their parents’ and that their opinions will change once they get to the “real world.” However, despite the very occasional validity of these claims, there are also a multitude of students who know how to form their own political opinions. I know so many people with conservative parents whose views have grown progressively more tolerant after real-world exposure and thoughtful research. Anybody can educate themselves and change their own minds, and I’d deem it thoroughly unwise to dismiss an entire generation just for being young.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Evelyn Foster at [email protected].