150 Students Walk Out in Protest at Hopkins High School

Ed. Note: The video above—shot by a Hopkins High student and showing the walkout—contains a few snippets of profanity, roughly at the 7:20, 10:20, and 11:20 marks.

Hopkins High School was the scene of a student protest Friday, according to the Star Tribune:

About 150 students at Hopkins High School staged a walkout Friday afternoon to protest what they called unfair treatment of minority students at the 1,800-student school in Minnetonka.

“What do we want?” “Equality!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” they chanted during the brief walkout on the balmy spring day, which broke up as soon as school let out and buses arrived about 2:30 p.m.

Last week, prosecutors charged two Hopkins High School students with misdemeanors following a confrontation in the assistant principal's office. The confrontation arose following student protests aimed at the school’s handling of an incident in which they say several white students mocked black culture. The two accused high schoolers called the event "modern-day blackface."

Students watching and taking part in the walkout were divided, according to messages posted on Twitter. Some were unsure of the walkout's purpose, others congratulated each other for taking part.

The school administration issued this statement, the Star Tribune reported:

“Our high school has a richly diverse student body, and we are committed to teaching all students. We recognize our students’ right to protest, but also invite them to come back into the building and share any grievances they may have with the high school administration.”

Read the full post at startribune.com.