Washington, DC—Yesterday, students in Sioux City, Iowa organized a protest of Donald Trump’s campaign appearance at West High School. Over 800 people showed up for the event. Local KTIV news coverage described the rally:
From Eastern to Western Iowa, a diverse crowd hoping to quiet Trump in Sioux City with a silent protest.
“We are not going to stand for Trump being here at West because he’s a bully,” said a West High Student.The group of protestors slamming the billionaire businessman’s rhetoric.
“…They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some I assume are good people,” Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump said on June 16, 2015.
Those comments from Trump’s announcement speech back in June prompting this protest.
“We’re trying to prove that all the things (referring to Trump) he has said are basically lies against us” said Sonia Rodriguez, a senior at West High School.” we’re all just great people trying to be here and not criminals or anything he’s said against us.
At West High, 33% of the student body is Hispanic, which is higher than the district average.
That’s right. This school in Sioux City, Iowa – the heart of Steve King’s district – is 33% Hispanic. And the student body there, along with parents and other community members, were outraged that their own superintendent would allow a bully like Donald Trump to use their school to spread his message of hate.
They turned their outrage into action. According to Matt Hildreth, an America’s Voice staffer who attended the rally, the protest organized by the local community was diverse, positive, and powerful. There were families in attendance, and strong support from the local Native American community. They registered between 50 and 100 new voters during the event. It was an important moment in time for Iowa’s pro-immigrant community—all in Rep. Steve King’s own backyard.
Local television news coverage featured protest organizer, Ismael Valadez Muñoz and tweets and video from the protest shows the crowd and its messages:
We are an inclusive community and we stand together against bullying. Thank you everyone for coming to show your support. #WestHighStudent
— Ismael Valadez Muñoz (@munvalis) October 28, 2015
.@RepGutierrez is right @realDonaldTrump is great for getting voter registrations! #westhighstudent #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/3XsdyPQTnp
— Matt Hildreth (@mhildreth) October 28, 2015
#WestHighStudent we will not stand for ignorance, sexism, and racism! pic.twitter.com/FsyKkKUPvB — Chief Homo (@NinerMonster) October 27, 2015
More tweets and video from the event can be found here.
According to Hildreth, Director of Iowa’s Voice: “It’s frustrating that Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman allowed Trump’s rhetoric to be brought to West High School, but seeing all the students with their families and the support of the community really gave me hope for the future of West High, Sioux City, and northwest Iowa.”
