It’s barely 11 am, but in the shadow of the McMinnville Police Department, students from Mac High School, along with a few other individuals, are protesting in tandem with thousands of other people across the USA for ‘A Day Without Immigrants’.

You might spot a man sitting in a golf cart wearing a scarlet “M” on his chest in the library parking lot- that’s just the high school admin keeping tabs from afar. He made it clear he didn’t want to comment with his name about the protest, saying just that it was “student-led” and he was there to supervise the kids.

With the motto “No school, No Work, No Shopping”, and officially starting at 12 pm, the ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ protest has clearly reached all the way into the heart of wine country. From what I can see, the protestors, who are waving signs and the red, white, and green of the Mexican flag on 2nd and Adams, are exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, all while getting honks of support and gleeful middle-fingers from the McMinnville commuters.

Say what you will about this city, but democracy is alive and well in Mac town.

-Andrew Brunello