September 10, 2025
The protestors hope to put pressure on Congress to vote against extending the occupation.
College students across Washington, D.C., staged a walkout on Tuesday, Sept. 9, to protest the ongoing federal occupation in the nation’s capital.
Students from schools such as Georgetown, George Washington, and Howard University stood in solidarity with one another to protest President Donald Trump’s deployment of national troops to the district. Faculty from these esteemed institutions also walked out of their scheduled classes to hit the streets for the cause.
The ongoing occupation of federal police throughout D.C. has left residents feeling uneasy. Anyone in the district could be stopped without any due reason, such as speaking another language or appearing to not belong based on skin color.
At Howard’s walkout, the HBCU students spoke about their fears regarding the potentially extended federal occupation.
“I feel so bottled up in my emotions in this overwhelming time of occupation in D.C.,” said Funmilayo Coates, a freshman at the HBCU, according to HUNewsService. “I even feel targeted myself, as I am part Nigerian. I’m scared that just because of my name or if I’m caught speaking another language, I could be stopped.”Â
According to WUSA9, one of the walkout’s organizers, The Sunrise Movement, shared the walkout’s demands on social media. While noting how college students in the city are “rising together,” they demanded that their school administrations fight to protect them, and that Congress “reverse the state of exception” on Trump’s takeover.
“As we return to school, our city is under attack—Trump has sent the military to patrol our streets and ICE to take away our loved ones. But in this moment of crisis, DC students are rising together,” the walkout flyer declared.
The Sunrise Movement hopes the walkout will put pressure on Congress as it gets ready to vote on an extension of Trump’s takeover.
“On the day before Congress votes to extend Trump’s federal control over the MPD, students on our campus and across DC are walking out of class,” the organization added. “We are calling on our university administration to fight for its students by resisting cooperation with Trump’s goons every step of the way. That means refusing to let the National Guard and ICE onto our campus.”
Students, chanting “We keep us safe,” staggered their walkouts, with Georgetown starting at 10 a.m. and American University students ending the protest at 2 p.m.
Despite the local emergency ending before midnight on Sept. 10, the National Guard has already received orders that they will stay in D.C. until at least November. Although a complete reversal seems unlikely, students hope their strength and advocacy will help in the long run.
“Even if this is for something that won’t materialize in our present, even if it is fighting for a sunrise that I know I will never see, I still have hope—hope that maybe the next generation, the next or the next will be that change,” shared one anonymous Howard student at the walkout.
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