Ohio anti-ICE students face discipline after being violent in store

North College Hill School students who recently vandalized a local Kroger store while protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will face disciplinary action.

North College Hill School Superintendent Dr. Eugene Blalock said the students’ actions at the supermarket do not reflect the school’s or the local community’s values, adding that even though the students are more than welcome to protest, they must do it peacefully, according to Fox 19.

Blalock said approximately 250 students participated in an anti-ICE protest on Feb. 18, but only a small group entered the store and became violent.

“Just disgusted. I mean, devastated. We’ve worked really hard with our students and our community to build relationships, and to see that some students decided to act out in a disorderly fashion was basically heartbreaking,” he said.

Blalock told Fox 19 they were not involved in organizing the protest.

“I’ve received a number of nasty emails and phone messages, posts, saying that the teachers organized this walkout or we allowed it, which is just not the case,” he said.

According to Blalock, approximately 20 to 30 students may have used the protest as an opportunity to avoid studying rather than to participate in it.

“My understanding, when they went into Kroger using vulgar language, throwing things, just very disturbing behavior and not what we expect from our students here at North College Hill,” he said.

Blalock also said that he spoke to several students on Feb. 19 to ask them what happened.

“The students who were involved in anything that happened in Kroger and acted violently, disorderly, definitely owe the community an apology,” he told the news outlet. “As a matter of fact, the parents owe the community an apology.”
According to Blalock, the parents of those children cannot blame the school for their child’s misbehavior, especially when it occurs outside the school.

“I see you, I hear you, and I empathize with the courage it takes to speak out,” North College Hill Council Member Kathy Cureton said. “I do NOT condone going into Kroger, or any private business, to destroy, disrupt, or interfere with operations as a form of protest.”

Blalock said he and his colleagues will continue to work with the North College Hill Police Department to identify the students who vandalized the local store, adding that school officials will look at each case on an individual basis. The guilty students will face disciplinary action, which could result in suspension from school or even expulsion.

In its statement published on Facebook, the North College Hill Police Department wrote that students have a right to protest, adding that the police officers were present during the walkout to “ensure the safety of students, staff, and the public,” as well as maintain order, prevent traffic hazards, and ensure that no one was placed at risk.”

“When actions moved beyond peaceful expression and began affecting public safety and private property rights, officers intervened to restore order,” the statement said.