It started with a handful of students walking through the doors of the Steamboat Springs High School just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, but within minutes the crowd just outside the school had grown to more than 150.

“I thought it was awesome,” senior Claire Shea said after speaking at the peaceful protest event. “I was expecting a crowd for sure, but it’s just a choice of people looking inwards and saying, ‘What do I believe in?’ I think that this large crowd was a great reflection that our whole community is at a time of unrest, and that we all have a voice — especially the youth, and I think that’s a great thing to acknowledge.”

Some students who walked out of the classroom for the rally held signs that included statements such as, “The wrong ICE is melting,” “ICE melts under resistance,” “Just because it doesn’t affect you, doesn’t doesn’t mean it’s not real,” “Fight ignorance, not immigration” and “We are all America.”

While ICE was a major topic at the rally, it was clear that students had more on their minds. One held a sign that read, “Together we are America.” It was also clear the event was a reflection of what the Steamboat community is feeling on topics that have found their way into conversations taking place in the halls of Steamboat Springs High School.

Reece Hoy, a senior, said the idea came up while he was talking with his teammates on the basketball team as they traveled to an away game a few weeks ago.

“We were on a basketball trip and some of my friends and I were talking, and we were sick and tired of seeing everything that’s going on, and not being able to do anything, or even feel like we have a voice,” Hoy said. “This was one of the only ways that we felt like we could have an impact on anything — and we just want to see change.”

When Hoy returned from the basketball trip, he talked with senior class leaders, and the idea to hold Wednesday’s event gained momentum. Hoy said he didn’t really plan on talking, but he nevertheless took the microphone and spoke at Wednesday’s event.

“I felt like I had to deliver for them, for all my friends and the community,” Hoy said. “I think I expected most of the school to come out. I think that’s just the kind of school and the type of community we have here.”

The event was organized by a handful of seniors at the school but was not endorsed by the school itself. The students walked out of the doors just before 10 a.m. and the event featured three speakers, including Shea and Hoy, who delivered a message of hope for the entire community.

“We need to prioritize peace over hate and violence. Conflict is not resolved when we are fighting each other,” Shea said. “We need to be prioritizing the protection of people over the policy and agenda. I’m here to support my whole community, because I’m scared and I’m not personally affected by it … I know that there are people being affected by it — and if no one speaks up right now, then I think that would be incredibly dangerous.”