Donald Trump

‘Move Trump, Get Out the Way:' Thousands of SF Students March to Protest Trump in Citywide Walkout

By Riya Bhattacharjee and Stephanie Chuang • •

More than a thousand students took to the streets of San Francisco Thursday to take part in a citywide student walkout to protest President-elect Donald Trump, marking a second day of anti-Trump protests in the Bay Area, joining thousands across the nation expressing their disappointment and anger at the election results.

Students from at least 10 San Francisco Unified School District schools started their march in front of the city's iconic City Hall building and made their way on Market Street, ending on the Embarcadero, near Fisherman's Wharf, chanting, "Move Trump, get out the way," and "Not my future, not my president," a call that has taken over the country.

Emily Montiel, a junior at Galileo High School, said she was happy to take action, using social media to call on her friends to join together in protest.

"I'm hoping he sees this protest," she said. "I don't think he’ll be like, 'I'm sorry,' but he will probably put it into consideration and change some things."

Balboa High senior Emma Sanford was already thinking impeachment.

"I know it's a very different process and has to do with the Senate, so I'm just hoping something will happen, I'm not sure what," she said. "We’re very unhappy, and we want to express that."

San Francisco police said the most challenging part for them was keeping the students safe, as it appeared the marches initially had no clear direction.

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"We just had to take our vans and move our people on foot, follow wherever they went," Lt. Jason Sawyer said. "They're expressing their frustrations, but overall they've been easy to work with, not mad at us. It's been OK."

Similar protests were held by school students in Oakland, San Jose, Concord, Napa and other cities across the Bay Area.

Thursday’s protest came after two different #NotMyPresident marches took place in San Francisco Wednesday, both peaceful, and the second one involving women, LGBTQ and immigrant groups who marched from the Civic Center to the Castro and held a candlelight vigil, before ending in the Mission District.

Bay Area Students Walk Out of Classes to Protest Donald Trump

One woman at the vigil, who wanted to stay anonymous said, "I'm devastated by the election results and felt like I had to do something." Her friend added, "This is not the America that I want; it's very disappointing that this is happening."

But Uber driver Kevin, who got stuck in the middle of the protest, said that even though he wasn't happy with the Election Night results, he was upset with the protests that took place in Oakland and Berkeley, where people were damaging property.

"I don't want no part of that because I know what that's going to lead to, bashing up other people's businesses," he said. "I don't mind peaceful protests, but that kind of protest, no way: freeways getting blocked, cops getting assaulted, innocent people getting pepper-sprayed. I'd rather drive Uber and make a buck."

The protests in San Francisco have so far remained peaceful compared to those in neighboring Oakland and Berkeley, where students, including those from UC Berkeley, have set trash and tires on fire to voice their displeasure. On Wednesday night, a protest in downtown Oakland turned violent when protesters resorted to rocks, bottles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails and even vandalized mom-and-pop businesses, smashing their windows and trashing their walls. Police arrested 30 people and cited 11 during the Oakland protest.

On Tuesday, students from a number of San Francisco schools came together, many carrying signs similar to those in earlier protests: "Not My President," "Black Lives Matter." "Make America Love Again," and P--- Grabs Back."

School district officials said Thursday's walkouts were not authorized, and families would be notified about unexcused absences.

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