OAKLAND — Joined by many of her classmates, Yasmine Selvin, 17, marched out of Oakland High School Monday to protest against Donald Trump’s election as the 45th president.

Yasmine attended her first protest because she wanted to express her disapproval of the president-elect. She said feels like “he’s not really thinking for the people.” Related Articles Is Kamala Harris the Democrats’ secret to stopping Trump’s Supreme Court nominee?

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“I decided to walk out of class today because I feel like in times of distress we need to unite in a peaceful way, which we did as youth,” she said as she sat on the steps of City Hall. “… I really support it because I feel like we’re really developing our own voices and speaking out for how we really feel.”

The protest started at noon and included at least 75 students from Oakland Technical High School who marched through downtown Oakland, chanting protest slogans, including “We regret the president-elect” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

The student-led protest was organized by students from about eight to 10 Oakland schools and Berkeley High, said Gema Quetzal, 15, a 10th grader at LIFE Academy, who helped organize the event.

“The people who organized the protest were young people of color from the Oakland community and school,” she said. “And we came together across Oakland to send a message to Donald Trump that we are going to stand united against him, across race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and legal status.”

Gema said support for the protest that included Oakland Technical, Oakland, Fremont, Castlemont and Skyline high schools as well as charters Aspire and Roots Academy grew on social media.

The city-wide student protest drew more than 1,000 students to the Fruitvale BART station, according to law enforcement authorities. Streets around the Fruitvale BART station were blocked off for a time so the students were not at risk of being struck by cars.

Students were not penalized for skipping class if their parents called the school and said their child has an excused absence, “but that’s not going to continue forever,” John Sasaki, spokesman for Oakland Unified School District.

“Protest is an American tradition and a vital part of our democratic society …,” he said. “We’re hoping that for the time being that the students will increase their learning in the classroom rather than outside the classroom.”

Some students from Piedmont Middle and High schools joined the protesters “in solidarity for the cause,” Sasaki said. He added that many students told him they felt empowered during the protests.

A group of students at Piedmont Middle School expressed their disapproval of the protest when marchers walked by, said Isabella Terrazas, a senior at Oakland Technical High. She heard people yell “lock her up” and “Trump is my president.”

Youth in the South Bay also walked out of school Monday to protest against Trump, as about 1,000 Menlo-Atherton High School students marched through Atherton, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto.

Palo Alto Daily News contributed to this report.