Life at MA • Report

A Path Towards Progress

The Marin Academy Walkout

By Tillie Solomon '27 in Winter 2026

At 2 pm on January 20, 2026, with 45 minutes left of their F block class, an estimated 120 Marin Academy students calmly walked out of school. They congregated outside the BBLC and marched sixteen blocks around downtown San Rafael and to City Hall, hoisting signs and chanting, "no ICE, no fear, immigrants are welcome here," and "no fear, no hate, no ICE in our state." Organized by MA Political Club leaders Alvar Aldana, Danny Puente, and Lachlan Williams, protesters were armed with posters they had made during lunch, a megaphone, and a desire to enact change.

Marin Academy was not the only school to participate in the walkout. All over the country, students walked out of school at 2 pm local time, staging walkouts to protest current U.S. immigration policy, specifically the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who have occupied U.S. cities, detained thousands, and who had recently killed Renee Nicole Good and Keith Porter (this tally grew after the walkout with the killing of Alex Pretti on January 24).

I asked junior Lachlan Williams, who helped organize and lead the march, what he hoped to achieve with the walkout. Williams explained that he wanted to provide "a way for our age group to exercise their rights and stand up for the injustice that is happening in the U.S. right now." Williams’s goal was accomplished for sophomore Bobby Pignati, who emphasized how empowering it felt to be walking the streets with so many passionate students standing up for what they believe in. Ultimately, a collective sense of community seemed to arise from the fact that students were coming together as a school to make a stand.

Junior Mia Abrajan explained that she was sacrificing her class time because "what we are facing right now is against humanity." Abrajan explained that as a daughter of an immigrant, she has seen that immigrants are the backbone of our country. Thus, she concluded, "If you support the U.S, then you cannot support the ICE raids."

Indeed, the protest was anything but anti-American — protesters showed up in red, white, and blue, and Aldana and Williams led the way carrying a U.S. flag. Additionally, MA protesters were joined by adults unaffiliated with the school — strangers who held similar beliefs and were thrilled to see and join the students. "We are here supporting the youth because we realize that the youth is our future," said Lisa, part of the Marin County League of Women Voters. Another protester echoed the sentiment: "We’re inspired by you. It’s your future, and we want you to have a good future."

Students did not shrink away from this responsibility, and instead embraced it — Williams insists that change starts with the youth. Those who didn’t see how the walkout could make a significant impact may find solace in the words of Deborah Finzen, another protester. Finzen works with the States Project, which is in Marin County raising money for state legislative races. Finzen shared, "We’re always trying to get young people involved and to care more and to participate more, so the fact that you guys are out here is really fantastic. It means a lot, because this is your fight."

However helpless it may seem, Finzen suggests that the youth hold a great deal of political power. Marin Academy students standing up, fighting back, and taking a role in their democracy may have a bigger impact than they realize.