Around 300 students marched down Central Avenue on Thursday, February 5th to protest the deaths of people in DHS custody, including two people killed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials in Minnesota.

The protest, organized by several Brophy and Xavier students, was part of a wave of youth-led demonstrations nationwide following the January 7th and 24th deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. Organizers said they wanted to show that young people are paying attention and demanding change.

The protest was organized in a relatively short timeframe. “We put it together within a week,” said Dante Cericola ‘27, one of the organizers. The protest was organized using multiple Instagram accounts by several students at Brophy and Xavier College Prep.

The protest began after school on the 5th where students assembled outside St. Francis Xavier church and marched down to Indian School Park. At the protest several individuals spoke including student organizers State Representative Mariana Sandoval (LD 23), and Ed Hermes, a candidate for Phoenix City Council District 4. 

According to its organizers, the protest received help from Brophy administrators. According to Cericola, Brophy priests prayed at the start of the protest, and they received permission for protestors to park in Brophy’s parking lot. 

Not all Brophy students wanted to participate, however. Kathan Cherukuri ’27 said he heard about the protest the day before but chose not to attend. While he said students have the right to organize, he questioned the administration’s level of involvement. “It’s definitely the students’ right,” Cherukuri said, but added that the administration should allow students to exercise their rights without encouraging the protest.