Student walkouts are a time-honored tradition of college campuses. The disruption it causes draws attention to thousands of students speaking their message.
But when classes are canceled or unattended, and there is no demonstration, that does not create a protest; it just lets students stay at home, and change is not made at home.
The Collegian reported that there would be a student demonstration at the Speakers’ Platform at Fresno State at 11 a.m. against recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in Minnesota.
At the same time, there are still unconfirmed reports of classes being canceled for the student walkout, with The Collegian’s Instagram poll showing students saying classes are canceled, while rumors of the Sociology department canceling classes have been unconfirmed.
The student walkout is part of a larger call for a national shutdown on Jan. 30. While the shutdown’s influence is manifesting in protests in the Fresno area, the call did not see a significant answer at Fresno State.
Around 20 students were present at the walkout, despite the original Instagram post receiving over 100 likes.
That leaves us with some cancelling of classes. Classes being canceled alone is not a protest when the students use it as an opportunity to stay at home.
Walkouts work because they disrupt the college ecosystem and demand that people witness the students’ beliefs. But what makes a walkout a walkout is the physical presence of students on campus.
It empties classrooms as the students fill the campus halls and spaces, making their grievances known to all who pass. Without a demonstration, skipping or cancelling classes just gives students a vacation; it is not a walkout.
I know Fresno State has a protest culture. Fresno State faculty held a strike in 2023 demanding greater wages, and students performed a sit-infor a pro-Palestine demonstration in 2024.
The spirit is there, but there is a difference in these demonstrations. The faculty are represented by the California Faculty Association (CFA), and so are able to formally organize actions as a group.
Student demonstrations have to be organized by students, and while the Students for Palestinian Liberation at Fresno State (SPL) succeeded in having a newsworthy presence, Fresno State is lacking a prominent group to represent the nationwide protests against ICE.
The Fresno area has shown its support of ICE protests on several occasions, but Fresno State is lacking the same efforts. Are students willing, or even wanting, to put in the effort to make a noteworthy political demonstration on campus?
It has been two years since the pro-Palestine protest, and it seems the current national protests against ICE, including student walkouts, should be reflected by Fresno State students just as the pro-Palestine protests were, but they are not.
If students’ idea of a protest is to merely not attend class, then they will lose the attention that walkouts give to their movement. While the campus administration may be annoyed by the empty classrooms, the lack of a true walkout makes it easy to ignore for everyone else.
I hope that students are working now to get organized. The protests around the nation are not showing any signs of stopping as the issues continue to persist, so students may reflect the national attitudes with their own organization and actions in the coming weeks.
It’s not just about the beliefs of these protests or whether or not we all agree with them, it’s about knowing that today’s college students care about their community, country and world.
Protests show that students care and they are willing to fight for their beliefs. If students protest less and less, then it shows that they are caring less, and that means the future is at risk of never changing for the better.
Clarification: The entire Fresno State campus is a free speech area. This story was updated to correctly reflect the name of the Speakers’ Platform.
