Generation Z and Generation Alpha are learning to be advocates in a tense political climate where human rights issues for marginalized communities continue to be challenged.
In San José, they are learning from older generations about how protest can not only be a way to take a stand, but also how it can be a form of education, self-care and a way to bring them closer to their community.
William C. Overfelt High School: Protesting against ICE
Vito Chiala, principal of William C. Overfelt High School, didn’t stop his students when he found out that they wanted to protest. Instead, he joined them.
“(Protest) builds more school spirit for them, more of a connection to the school in the community than a rally or an assembly does,” Chiala said. “In a different way, it becomes a school activity that’s student-driven … and empowers them in a way that doesn’t get in the way of their education, but actually encourages their education.”
In January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was seen multiple times in San José from Jan. 26 to 27, according to a Jan. 28 article from the Spartan Daily.
They were first seen behind a Target on South King Road, 1.4 miles north of the school.
Within the same month, around 600 students at William C. Overfelt High School held a walkout to protest against ICE, according to a March 25 Mosaic article published in The Mercury News.
“We have 1,400 students and I would be surprised if any of them were not impacted in one way or another,” Chiala said. “For some of them, it’s themselves. For others, it’s their parents. And for others, it’s aunts, uncles and at the very least, almost everybody who has a friend (knows someone) who’s undocumented.”
In January, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a directive rescinding old guidelines from former President Joe Biden’s administration titled, “Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas.”
These guidelines originally prevented ICE and Customs and Border Protection law enforcement from making arrests in protected areas, including schools, medical facilities and places of worship, according to a 2021 memorandum from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Chiala said he understands that many schools typically don’t encourage protests because they are afraid students may be at high risk of being in danger, but he also encourages students to pay attention to what is happening around them.
“We also really do want our students to be actively involved in supporting their community and the things that are important to their community,” Chiala said. “That’s what we teach.”
El Grito de la Cultura: Protesting through dance
On April 5 at around 2 p.m., across from the 50501 “Hands Off!" protest at St. James Park, folklórico dance teacher Elena Robles led 12 of her students through a dance on the steps of the Old Courthouse.
As her students danced in front of the steps, a crowd started to slowly form on the sidewalk, drawing in protesters and other community members who were not a part of the protest.
“I want to expose them as much as I can to anything that’s just and right and worth doing,” Robles said. “So that they feel strength and they become leaders and they aren’t shy to make a difference.”
As a nationwide grassroots movement, 50501 aims to perform 50 protests in 50 states simultaneously for people to show their disapproval of President Donald J. Trump’s administration, according to its website.
Robles, who teaches at El Grito de la Cultura, said she asked her students to come out and dance at the protest because she wanted her students to learn more about what is happening in their community and around the U.S.
Nathalie Hernandez, who is 10 years old and one of Robles’s folklórico dance students, wore a large purple skirt as she danced for the small crowd that slowly formed on the sidewalk.
Hernandez said dancing folklórico helps her show people her culture and who the people are in her community.
“Some of their families have been deported, which I'm confused (about) because it's not right,” Hernandez said. “They also need a family.”
Data from ICE reports that 26,606 people have been arrested and 66,886 people have been detained by federal agents in 2025.
In 2024, ICE arrested a total of 113,431 people and detained a total of 277,913 people during Biden’s administration, according to the same data.
Addie Hopkins, who is 17 years old and another one of Robles’s students, has been a dancer for 11 years and also danced at the protest.
“I kind of want to bring people together,” Hopkins said. “That’s what I want to do in life. So I feel like being an activist is the first step to (do) that (in) being able to help the community in my own way.”
MACLA’s Teen Tech Center: Soft activism and self care
Ruben Escalante, a director at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana’s Teen Tech Center, not only teaches students at the center how to create digital media art, but he also teaches them how to take care of themselves and one another.
“I think one of the probably softest forms (of activism) is listening,” Escalante said. “I think so many people want to speak and get their point across, which is important, but so much of what's wrong with the world is just miscommunications and other people with a lot of power feeling like they're not being validated in some way.”
The Teen Tech Center is a free arts education program that mentors youth between the ages of 11-19 and teaches students how to produce multimedia content, according to its webpage.
During SoFa District’s South First Friday event on April 4, a group of high school students from the center showcased their artwork during their last exhibition, “We the Animals.”
Cammie Patron, a 17-year-old junior who goes to an online high school, had four images hung on one of the gallery walls at the Teen Tech Center on April 4.
Three of the images are of animals. One photo is of a black cat she photographed a couple of blocks from the center and the last photo is of a capybara she photographed at the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo.
“It's basically to say how animals are important too, and that they matter as well, because humans, technically, are animals too,” Patron said. “Hence why it’s called ‘We the Animals,’ because we are animals, so we should treat other animals with the same respect that we treat other humans.”
The concept of the series stemmed from conversations the students had around animals, the environment and how humans have been harming both, according to the artist's statement hung on one of the walls in the gallery.
Patron said she chose these photos because these images remind viewers that these animals are part of the community.
The staff at the Teen Tech Center encourages students to develop their artistic voices while also encouraging them to engage with the community to learn how art can be used to create social change, according to its webpage.
“Art is a matter of coming to terms with something and being able to kind of put things to rest. Things that you might not have control over,” Escalante said. “You work it all out through the artwork.”
