A student walkout in Fernley on Feb. 6, part of a growing wave of student protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) taking place across the country, ended without any reported incidents of violence, according to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
Despite widespread criticism of the protest and fears of violence, both against students who participated and those who didn’t, deputies monitoring the demonstration said they observed and received no reports of fights, weapons or violence, and reported only slowed traffic as students moved through the area.
The Sheriff’s Office began preparing for the protest on Feb. 4 after learning that Fernley High School students were planning a walkout. In the two days before the event, LCSO received numerous calls, messages and online reports from residents warning of possible threats, including rumors of fights and shootings. Deputies also discovered that students at Silverland Middle School intended to participate.
LCSO Chief Deputy Mitch Brantingham said those reports were investigated and found largely unsubstantiated, but the Sheriff’s Office increased patrols throughout the city as a precaution.
Students said the walkout was organized by a group of Fernley High School students and promoted through a series of Instagram posts that circulated earlier in the week.
“It was a few Hispanic girls at our school,” Nunez said. “I don’t know their names.”
Shortly before 10 a.m. on Friday, about 50 Fernley High students left campus carrying signs and flags and walked north on U.S. 95A before turning east on Main Street and gathering at the roundabout. Roughly 20 Silverland Middle School students walked along Farm District Road to meet them there. Deputies also noted a small group of counter-protesters, who Brantingham said also appeared to be students, on the opposite side of the roundabout, but no confrontations occurred.
Students described the reaction from the public as mostly supportive, though a few passing drivers made negative gestures. Several students said they were grateful for the presence of deputies and Nevada Highway Patrol troopers. Many shouted “Thank you” to an LCSO deputy who was blocking traffic as they crossed the intersection at 95A and Cottonwood Lane.
“That makes us feel safe and secure that they’re not actually letting all these people walk all over us,” said Jennifer Ayala-Cruz. “They’re actually trying to protect us and not being like other people who are not trying to protect us and trying to keep us down.”
Daniel Nunez said the students who organized the walkout urged participants to remain calm.
“If we show any violence, it’s going to be used against us,” he said.
Students said they walked out to show support for immigrant families and to speak out against ICE policies. They chanted slogans including “Fight for what’s right,” “No ICE in America,” and “Speaking for those who can’t.”
“We’re all humans and we all have a right to speak, and we all have a right to stay here,” said Makaya Koszuth.
Nunez, the son of an immigrant, said his father came to the U.S. at 18 and later earned his citizenship.
“I’m super happy to see people fighting to keep it that way where people can come into this country and have a better life,” he said. “If you come to this country with good intentions, you should be able to stay in this country unless you are a criminal trying to escape from the law.”
Concerns about student safety were shared by school administrators. FHS Principal Ryan Cross said administrators informed School Resource Officer Melody Holland as soon as they learned of the planned protest.
Cross and Holland addressed the issue Friday morning during the school’s Winter Spirit Week assembly, according to Nunez.
“They said they’re going to have heavy patrol around the area, which they obviously do, just to keep us safe,” Nunez said. “They can’t stop us from exercising our First Amendment rights and they’re going to let us do our thing unless it starts to turn into a riot, which I hope it doesn’t.”
Cross said the school already had a shortened day scheduled for staff development, with dismissal at 11 a.m. and lunches beginning at 9:55 a.m. He emphasized that the schedule had been set since the beginning of the school year, and that any student who left class before dismissal would be marked with an unexcused absence.
Cross said his primary concern was the safety of students once they left school grounds.
“I’m grateful for the sheriff’s office and NHP for monitoring the situation,” he said.
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