On Mar. 27, 28 and 29, Venice High School students were among the 40,000 students in Southern California who walked out to protest the recently proposed immigration legislation, HR 4437.

About 350 Venice students walked out of school after nutrition on Monday, Mar. 27. Two boys carrying the Mexican flag and screaming, "Walk Out!" led the crowd across the front lawn toward Venice Boulevard. The number of students who walked out kept growing as the front of the crowd of protesters walked east on Venice Boulevard. Many Mark Twain middle school students joined them in front of the school.

Many of the students were waving Mexican, Salvadoran and American flags. They also "No on HR 4437" posters. Although temporary dean Allen Hunt believed that the students would just walk around the school, they ended up walking to Culver City City Hall. On the way, they also stopped by Marina Middle School to join with other students.

Assistant Principals Ceci Grakal and Marc Paez walked with the students on Monday. They did so because it is the responsibility of the school to send administrators to ensure the safety of the student body. According to Paez, the students were well-behaved on Monday.

"The kids that I talked to [on Monday] knew what they were protesting," said Grakal. when asked about the protesters' knowledge about the legislation.

Under the proposed bill, being in the US without a visa would be considered a felony, punishable by imprisonment. HR 4437 would make all undocumented immigrants felons. This would affect the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the US today.

According to school officials, the motives of those who protested on Tuesday were different from those who protested on Monday. About 110 students marched on Culver City City Hall.

After nutrition, other students attempted to walk out, but administrators convinced them that they would be given the opportunity to protest during school hours. About 25 students took the opportunity and walked up and down the front of the school with posters and Mexican flags during lunchtime.

"There was a different flavor on Tuesday, not as positive. There was more of a sense of antagonism and defiance. Not as much about [the] cause," said Paez about the attempted walkout on Tuesday. He went on to explain that he felt that on Tuesday students were just interested in leaving school.

About 50 students attempted to walk out on Wednesday. They were all marked truant. Six students were suspended on Wednesday. They were not suspended for walking out, but for defiance of authority.

Principal Janice Davis stated that there was a slight attempt at a walkout on Friday by a small group of students after nutrition. She said that they gave up once they realized other students were not following.

Although the administrators sympathized with the students' desire to protest over the legislation, they felt that the students' point was made on Monday and that the protests on the other days were unnecessary, said Paez. Officials were also concerned about the students' safety and education.

"The students' voices were heard throughout the city on Monday, but continuing to walk out does not portray them positively," said Paez. He also said that it was important for students to return to their classes.

"There is roof for protest and school," said Grakal. She stated that she "appreciated" that the students were passionate about a cause but felt it was "counterproductive" for the students to miss school. She was also concerned that the students' behavior might lead to students being hurt.

Paez said that Venice administrators were not caught off guard by the walkout Monday. Other schools had walkouts on Friday, so Venice administrators expected Venice students to walk out. Grakal explained that she was not certain if there were other walkouts planned later on in the week, but she had heard a rumor that the walkouts were supposed to occur all week long. According to Grakal, no arrests were made on campus.

Melina Flores contributed to this story.