WATERTOWN, Wis. — Hundreds of Watertown High School students walked out of class Wednesday to protest the school board's decision to ban the Wind Symphony from performing "A Mother of A Revolution!" at their upcoming spring concert.
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The school board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to prohibit the Wind Symphony from playing the instrumental piece, which has ties to the Stonewall movement and a transgender activist. The spring concert is scheduled for Monday.
Students carrying signs gathered outside the school, chanting, "Let them play," in protest of the board's decision.
Sophia Anderson, a student who spoke with TMJ4 last week when coverage of this story began, addressed what it meant to see so many peers show up in support.
"I'm just so unbelievably proud of all of these people, a lot of them don't even fully know the circumstances as to which they're out here, but just seeing them all out here, these maybe about 200 people, is amazing. Like getting their support for just a band class is the best thing I could have asked for," Anderson said.
Anderson, who has been practicing the song for months ahead of the spring concert, described her reaction to the board's decision.
"I was just disappointed. I'm so utterly angry, and I don't even know how to express it. They made the decision me and my friend Lily, we just left because there was no way we were sitting through that after hearing all of the amazing things that those people, old, young as it was, 12 years old, were saying, and they were making children cry over this, and they can't even make it up to us by letting us play," Anderson said.
Another student, Colton Stai, explained why he felt compelled to join the walkout.
"I just felt like, as an athlete, like for me, it would be just horrible if we practice all summer long, all season, couldn't go to play. So I feel for the band team, like, practicing, practicing, practicing for months and months, more than, like half the school year, and then they can't go out and play the piece like I just feel like, for me, I would be broken by that. So they must be broken too," Stai said.
Stai also spoke to what the broad turnout among students from different clubs and groups signals to the school board.
"I love to see it. I think that it shows how just connected the student body is and how disappointed everyone is with the school board in this matter," he said.
The spring concert is still scheduled for Monday. The Wind Symphony will not be permitted to perform "A Mother of A Revolution!"
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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