At Malden High School, students have organized walkouts in response to social movements that anger them . Many students participate in these walkouts to get their voices out there and hopefully, their messages heard.
There have been two walkouts this year, but these were not the first. Before this year, there was a walkout in 2024 for gun violence. The streets were flooded with student participants.
Since then, these walkouts have expanded beyond focusing on one issue. The student activism at Malden High continues to grow and evolve.
“Seeing how everyone can gather together and fight for the same cause despite anyone’s differences shows how united our community is,” Junior Maya Pedraza who participated in both walkouts this year shared.
In February 2026, students organized another walkout protesting the actions of ICE, bringing attention to the fear and impact immigration enforcement has had on many families in the community and country.
During this protest, students marched together chanting, “Say it once. Say it twice. We will not put up with ICE.”
What made this walkout especially significant is how personal the issue was for many students. With such a diverse student body, many participants were directly affected or knew someone impacted. This made the walkout so much more than a political statement—it was a reflection of their own lives.
Students have also spoken out in support of Principal Chris Mastrangelo’s leave, demonstrating their support. Their support shows how activism is not only about national or global issues, but also about protecting their own school environment.
Now despite the effectiveness within the community allowing everyone to come together and make a stand, the question is if these walkouts were effective towards their purpose.
Analyzing the walkout for Principal Mastrangelo, the purpose of it was to take a stand against the non renewal of Mastrangelo’s contract, which they believed was unjust. Michael Sabin has already been selected to succeed Mastrangelo’s position for the following school year, indicating the walkout did not fulfill its purpose of extending Mastrangelo’s contract.
In the February 2026 walkout protesting ICE, students aimed to bring attention to immigration enforcement and push for change. However ICE policies and actions continue unchanged, showing that while awareness may have been raised, no direct impact was made on the overall situation.
Although the walkouts were meaningful to students, they were ineffective in producing the specific changes they were meant to accomplish.
In both cases, the issues students protested against remained the same, reinforcing the idea that awareness alone does not always lead to successful results.
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