This is Sandy’s first protest. A devout Christian, she stands, planted firmly on the edge of a swarming crowd with her husband as they hold their homemade signs high. A Chicago native now living in Wisconsin, Sandy, who declined to give her last name, felt it was important to make the trip back to Chicago to attend the No Kings rally and march in Grant Park on Oct. 18. She and her husband were among 250,000 other protestors, which included many members from the U-High community.

In a sea of multicolored banners, inflatable costumes, papier-mache caricatures of Donald Trump, and Pride, Mexican, Palestinian and American flags, one message was clear: these protesters have no intention of surrendering to the current administration.

U-High junior Mardi Gunning, who uses they/she pronouns, came to the protest with a group of Lab faculty members, which included their mother. The group gathered on a street corner before walking together to attend the rally in Butler Field followed by the march. Mardi aimed to use their privilege to support the communities they believe are being targeted by the Trump administration. 

“I have the privilege to be able to do this with a minimum level of fear,” Mardi said. “I’m white, I don’t tend to look very different from the people that are hurting us, and I want to use that privilege to help.”

Middle school P.E. teacher Quinn Menchetti was one of several Lab faculty members who gathered at the event. He joined in part to try and pave the way for younger generations.

“I want our students, and my son, to grow up in a free and liberal democracy, and I’m more worried than I ever have been in my life that that is under threat,” Mr. Menchetti said.

Speakers for the rally, which lasted from around 12 to 1:15 p.m., included representatives from sponsoring organizations and a parade of politicians, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“We will never surrender,” Gov. Pritzker said from the stage as the massive crowd roared in agreement. “Throughout history, we have learned that tyranny doesn’t arrive with dramatic proclamations. We learned that it comes wrapped in law and order with fingers pointed at someone who doesn’t look like you, promising safety.”

A few blocks away from the field before the rally started, Chris Carroll, who has been a member of the International Socialist Alternative for much of his life, spoke with passersby and handed out pamphlets promoting the organization from a bright red booth. He was specifically angered by the Trump administration’s effects on working-class people.

“I believe the Trump administration is an increasingly authoritarian regime with really terrible consequences for working-class people, young people,” he said. “We see that with the escalation of ICE raids. They’re simply barbaric. We see that with all the attacks on the trans community. We see that with attacks on the living standards of all working-class people.”

Sandy, like Mr. Carroll, disagrees with the Trump administration. She doesn’t believe President Trump embodies Christian values and sees his leadership as a test from God to separate those willing to follow Jesus’ teachings from those willing to follow a dictator.

“What’s happening in our nation and the world is unacceptable. You know, I’m a strong believer in our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Everything’s under his control,” Sandy said. “And for a man and our government to be dictating authority when we’re in the US of A with our Constitution that upholds our laws, he has no business defying those laws.”

The escalation of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Chicago is an issue close to U-High senior Camila Bravo’s heart. After seeing ICE agents take people into custody in her neighborhood, she said coming to the protest became a priority. 

“They’re not even trying to cover up anymore. It’s about how you look, it’s about where you work, it’s about whether you speak a language,” Camila said, referring to the agents’ ability to identify people to detain. “Although it’s affecting a lot of people, it’s specifically targeting the Latino Community here in Chicago, communities I’m part of.”

As protestor Tom Foley and his wife walked along South Michigan Avenue to join the swelling crowd that was marching north, he felt, instead of despair, a sense of hope. 

“Maybe everything’s not lost,” Mr. Foley said. “You see all these great people around you, and you realize that the president is not right, and we have to fight him.”

Mr. Menchetti stressed that it is important to pay attention to what is currently happening in the world and, specifically, the United States.

He said, “This is an important time in history. So, especially to our high schoolers: read the news, follow the news. It can be really scary and really sad, but don’t blink.”