Amerikansk ungdomsskole i Tyskland demonstrerer mot Trumps anti DEI politikk - Stars & Stripes

 

Middle school students hold walkout during Hegseth visit to US base in Germany

By 

John Vandiver

Stars and Stripes • February 12, 2025

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Patch Middle School at the U.S. Army's Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. About 55 of the school's students on Tuesday held a walkout during a visit by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the installation for meetings with service members and military officials. (John Vandiver/Stars and Stripes)

STUTTGART, Germany — More than 50 Patch Middle School students staged a walkout Tuesday to protest recent Pentagon moves that have targeted diversity initiatives at military schools.

In a memo to parents, the school said the protest was related to “recent events,” while stopping short of directly naming the Pentagon’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and educational material.

The protest coincided with a visit by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Patch Barracks, who was in Stuttgart for meetings at U.S. Africa Command and U.S. European Command headquarters.

During his stop at EUCOM, a small gathering of people dressed in civilian clothes also appeared to protest recent Pentagon decisions, with the group shouting out “DEI” for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Patch Middle School assistant principal Alexis Small said the school protest occurred at 1 p.m., with 55 students walking out of class. The group gathered in the courtyard for about 50 minutes, Small said in the memo to parents Tuesday.

The Department of Defense Education Activity “respects our students’ rights to peacefully express their opinions through speech and other means as long as it is done respectfully, does not interfere with the rights of others, and does not disrupt learning in the school,” Small said.