Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) For the third time this week, Montgomery County students have walked out on classes to protest the election of Donald Trump as president. This time it’s students from the Watkins Mill High School. School board president Michael Durso told Mornings on the Mall Friday he expects protests to continue leading up to the presidential inauguration.
“For us to think that in these particular turbulent times that adults or students are just gonna sit idly by, I just don’t think is realistic,” according to Durso.
Some accuse teachers and administrators of just sitting idly by as students took to the streets, putting themselves in danger.
In a video, Superintendent Jack Smith Durso urged students to stay in classes, saying they will get unexcused absences if they leave without bringing in a note from their parents excusing the absences. While school officials don’t condone the walkouts, Durso said there isn’t much them can do to stop them.
“Would you have the police to keep them within the building? You know, it’s easier said than done from a standpoint of looking from the outside,” Durso said.
Still, the board shares community concerns about keeping students safe after one Trump supporter was injured by protestors.
With more than 100,000 students coming into schools every day, Durso said safety situations often arise that they don’t condone but have to deal with anyway.
Durso thinks the walkouts present an opportunity for administrators and teachers to talk to students about their frustrations and how to handle them.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (photo: Montgomery Blair High School)
