SALT LAKE COUNTY, Nov. 11, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — More than a thousand students from the Granite School District walked out of class late Friday morning on a mission to protest the Tuesday election that will make Donald Trump America’s next president.

“Its just really good to see how the community of all different races came together,” said Hunter High student Dakota Kelley, 18, when Gephardt Daily caught up with him later Friday afternoon at the Utah State Capitol.

“That’s what we’re trying to spread — that we all want to be united.”

“Other youth around the nation can realize that we’re the future of this nation, and we’ll stand together, no matter what our elders are doing right now and who’s trying to divide us,” said Kelley, when asked why he helped organize the protest. “For the future, we’ll stand together.”

Aylen Goldman, 18 and a Kearns High student, was asking friends on social media if anyone would want to protest, and got positive responses. When she heard about Kelley’s protest plan, she contacted him so the two could plan a joint protest.

“We contacted other schools, and that’s how we organized it,” Goldman said. “We let everyone know, and we spread the word.

“We are here, united together as family, and that’s the word we’re trying to spread around — that together we can come, peacefully, and we’re going to actually make a difference.”

The protest started late Friday morning at West Valley City’s Hunter High School, when students walked or drove to the next school to add to their ranks. Before it was over, about 1,000 students were protesting together, from Hunter High, Taylorsville High, Kearns High, Murray’s Cottonwood High, and West Valley City’s Granger High.

The Unified Police Department sent officers over to keep an eye on the teens.

“It was peaceful,” said Chuck Malm, a detective with the UPD. “Our whole concern was making sure they were safe. I have no reported incidents.

“They were protesting election results, and they were just walking through,” he said. “They had gatherings in a few places, like the Walmart Parking lot across from Taylorsville High. Eventually, the group was getting smaller and smaller. Our officers stopped holding traffic and returned to normal operations at about 2.”

Up at the Capitol a couple hours later, 100 or so students remained together, talking about their cause. Also with the group was non-student Daniel Argueta, an adult who said he was there to keep the students safe.

“The overall message is one of hope and unity, and power,” Argueta said. “These guys have been ‘beat up’ for the last few years, and their families have been beat up by Donald Trump and his supporters. They thought they would get some kind of redemption by Donald Trump losing, and instead of redemption, they got further beat down by a larger population.

“These guys’ message is to let them know, ‘Hey, we ‘re still here. We’re going to be here, our families are going to be here. Our LGBT community is going to be here. Our Muslim community’s going to be here. Our women are going to be protected, and we’re here to stand together to do that.’

“Just because he won the election doesn’t mean we don’t have the power. It means we are more powerful now because now we are united as a community, and we will come together to fight some of that prejudice and racism that’s out there.”

Argueta said with the protest, the students were exercising their right to free speech.

“They’re not going to be silent anymore.”

Friday’s event followed two major protests in two days in downtown Salt Lake City. A protest event on Wednesday at the City and County Building drew several hundred. A protest downtown Thursday night drew several thousand, who chanted angrily and carried signs with anti-Trump messages.

Several downtown business owners spent Friday morning cleaning up damages and graffiti believed to have occurred during the protest.

Another protest event by the group that met Wednesday is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday. For more information, click here.