Students Participate in Anti-ICE Sit-In Demonstration

Over 100 students gathered on the steps of Samuel Phillips Hall (Sam Phil) last Friday during 7th period for a sit-in demonstration. Organized by Kristen Ma ’27 and Vivi Plouffe ’27, the demonstration was held in response to recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Attendees held up hand-drawn posters, listened to music, and gave speeches to express their beliefs on current events.

As the demonstration took place during a scheduled class period, Dean of Studies Caroline Odden explained the guidance to faculty regarding attendance and graded work. 

“The administration advised faculty to hold class, take attendance, and refrain from moving assessments scheduled for 7th period on Friday. Because this event was planned during 7th period rather than the unscheduled time, students who had 7th period and wanted to attend the protest had to consider some tradeoffs,” wrote Odden in an email to The Phillipian. 

Plouffe said that she and Ma envisioned the demonstration not only as a response to ICE, but also as a way to consolidate student support and demonstrate the feasibility of coordinated action on campus.

“We wanted to draw together student support for the cause of ICE brutality over the past year. We wanted to gather a community of students that care very deeply about this issue. We also wanted to illustrate that it actually is very possible, to hold a protest and to organize students, because there are a lot of like-minded people in this community who just don’t have the opportunities together. And we were aware of Andover’s prominence within the NEPSAC schools, and we were hoping that it could have a spillover effect onto other schools to recognize the importance of showing student support,” said Plouffe. 

Ma said she and Plouffe opened the sit-in by framing the issue as one of human rights and moral responsibility rather than partisan politics. 

“With this protest, we tried our best to keep politics out of it and frame it as a human rights issue. We wanted our students and our faculty to make a statement of care because there are students in our community that are impacted by this. We have faculty that are from Lawrence, we have students that are from Lawrence. And so it was very imperative that [we], as a boarding school, take a stand on things that we believe are morally incorrect,” said Ma. 

Plouffe added that the idea for a demonstration had been in discussion since October, and gained renewed momentum in the wake of national walkouts. 

“We have been thinking about and planning a protest for many months, starting in October, but we started more closely workshopping this specific one a few weeks ago, following the storm of walkouts across the country.
We wanted to make sure that the community was safe, and we believed that a walkout was a more peaceful and toned-down version,” said Plouffe. 

Ma elaborated on the intentionality of the sit-in’s format and timing during class hours. She pointed to both historical precedent on campus and her and Plouffe’s belief that protest should require a personal stake.

“On [Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK)] Day, Vivian and I both heard a lot of praise, the school administration was really lauding Brian Gittens 1989 protest to have MLK Day on. In addition, we wanted, very importantly, that this would be a walkout that would cost students a cut because we believe that protest is something that you must have some sort of stake in. We were very adamant about having students skip their 7th period. You have to relinquish something to advocate for something, especially with regard to something like human rights. And so that was the direction that we took,” said Ma. 

Jason Cai ’28, who helped distribute flyers, explained his reasoning for attending. 

“I felt like it was a matter of obligation rather than a matter of having a choice in the matter because, to me, it was essentially a question of: are you willing to take one cut, or are you willing to just skip seventh period to communicate that this campus cares about the people who are dying on the streets? So the obvious question to that answer, at least to me, [was] yes. It wasn’t a matter of heroism and I didn’t feel like I was going above and beyond by attending, but more like I was performing a duty that I had. To me, sacrificing or skipping one period is almost negligible,” said Cai. 

During the sit-in, a group of faculty members gathered on the side of the steps in support. Eliot Davenport, Instructor in Philosophy and Religious Studies, explained why he invited his 7th period class to attend the protest with him. 

“I wanted to go support the students who were at the protest. So, I said that any students who wanted to go with me were welcome to come with me, and any students who wanted to stay and have class, I had a solo activity that they could be doing. Protest always comes with real-world consequences. To protest, sometimes [you] are putting your body on the line, sometimes you’re missing work. Getting an unexcused absence is a very low-stakes but real consequence. I told the students that, and I [said], if you don’t want an unexcused absence, you’re welcome to stay here. Every single one of them came to the protest. We all walked over together,” said Davenport.  

Olivia Isacson ’26, founder and president of the Current Events Club, gave a speech at the demonstration. She highlighted the significance of maintaining awareness of events outside of the Andover bubble.

“What I loved and I found so meaningful was that cutting class and just sitting together was just a symbol of solidarity in our community. I was able to speak to people I haven’t spoken to all year [and] communicate with teachers. It was a moment to take a break in our busy and overwhelming Andover lives just to be in community and think about the world around us. We can change [our] community mindset, and it speaks to a larger issue that too often we’re so busy and we forget to think about others. We forget to think about the broader implications of our work,” said Isacson.

Last Thursday evening, teachers in the History Department led an open forum to answer questions on current events. Eric Denby, Instructor in History and a member of the panel, elaborated on the importance of creating further opportunities for facilitated discussions on campus. 

“There’s absolutely a need for more forums in which students can discuss in a civil way what’s going on in the world and how to understand it. That’s one of the reasons why the History Department has attempted to offer a couple of these panel discussions and forums. [On] Thursday, about 120 [students showed up], and we have more planned. As long as there are historians and faculty colleagues who are willing to do these types of events, I’m going to try to plan more with them,” said Denby. 

Associate Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, and Wellness Linda Carter-Griffith encouraged students to form coalitions and communicate with administration and faculty. 

“I definitely want it to be known that we are looking for students to come forward. As an adult in this community, my goal is not to influence you about what you need to protest about or care about. My goal here is to help facilitate: what’s the information you need, what’s the awareness [we need to address]? So what I’m looking forward to doing is bringing in more folks [to speak] on some of the controversial and difficult topics that we’re addressing. I know what some of [the topics] are, based on the questions I heard [at the History Panel] on Thursday. I want students working with students. It should not be an administrators-led matter…So my desire is that students who were standing [up] for any of the issues that were presented [at the protest] consider coalition building,” said Griffith.  

Griffith continued, “I really encourage students to reach out to teachers. It doesn’t have to just be administrators. If you’re interested in bringing a speaker, if you’re interested in putting something together, there’s the Abbot Grants, there is the Speaker’s Committee, which I do coordinate. And so, come by and talk, come with a friend, to have a conversation. Consider it. If we can create some spaces to better learn what’s on students’ minds, I’m all for it.”

Aquita Winslow, Dean of Community and Multicultural Development, and Gina Finocchiaro, International Student Coordinator and Protestant Chaplain, declined to interview.

Editor’s Note: Kristen Ma is a News Editor for The Phillipian. None of the News Editors were involved in the reporting or writing of this article.