Today, a number of students at Pennsbury High School will participate in a peaceful walkout to protest what they view as harsh and heavy-handed federal immigration enforcement tactics. As a 1999 Pennsbury grad, I could not be more proud of their decision to confront this issue. As an elected member of local government, I applaud their exercise of their constitutional rights and participation in an increasingly important community discussion.
High school students are often dismissed as too young to understand the complexities of national policy. At the same time, our youth are criticized for failing to vote or to share the sense of civic duty of past generations. These students are standing against these assumptions and demonstrating that they care deeply about the kind of country they’re inheriting. When young people choose peaceful civic action over cynicism or apathy, that’s not something to dismiss. It’s something to celebrate.
Equally worthy of recognition is the school administration’s response. Rather than shutting the effort down or attempting to silence it, administrators are working with student leaders to create space for lawful, orderly expression. The First Amendment is not an abstract concept in a textbook. It’s living principle. By allowing students to exercise their freedom of speech in a structured and respectful way, the school is modeling the very democratic values we claim to cherish and encouraging vital civic participation in the next generation of American leaders.
At the heart of this walkout is a deeper discomfort many of us feel. Images of masked federal agents in tactical gear operating in American neighborhoods are jarring. While courts may be approving the tactics being employed by the federal government, that doesn’t make them compatible with our shared values. They may be authorized under emergency declarations, but they are also contrary to the peace and stability that communities like ours hold dear. The sudden visibility of militarized enforcement in our quiet towns would be unsettling; not because we oppose the rule of law, but because we value proportionality, transparency, and humanity in how that law is enforced.
By allowing students to exercise their freedom of speech in a structured and respectful way, the school is modeling the very democratic values we claim to cherish and encouraging vital civic participation in the next generation of American leaders.
We can have a serious national conversation about border security and immigration policy. We can debate reforms. But what we can’t do is normalize tactics that leave children anxious, families fearful, and entire communities on edge. When teenagers feel compelled to walk out of class to say, “This doesn’t feel right,” adults should pause and listen.
These students are not radicals. They are not part of some vast conspiracy or any of the many other wild things being said about this protest on social media. They are members of our communities whose voices and visions of our country’s future matter just as much as yours and mine.
Today, Pennsbury students will take a brief 20-minute step outside their classrooms. In doing so, they stride into the long American tradition of peaceful protest and I thank them for their leadership at this important moment in our history.
Colin Coyle is a 1999 graduate of Pennsbury High School and a member of the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors. The views expressed here are solely his own and are offered in his personal capacity as a Pennsbury alumnus. They do not reflect the official positions, policies, or views of Lower Makefield Township.
