Grand Junction High School students hold signs after walking out of school on Friday. The walkout was organized after a former student created an account on the social media platform TikTok under the account “Justice for GJHS Girls” that, on Dec. 18, 2022, posted a video detailing allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against a current teacher.
Dozens of Grand Junction High School students walked out of school before the end of the class day Friday, marching down streets around the school with signs displaying messages like “I don’t want to take class with a rapist,” “Protect students, not reputation,” and “Where was my justice?” while chanting, “No means no!”
The walkout was organized by Olivia Deines, a former Grand Junction student who graduated in November through a Mesa County Valley School District 51 online program. Deines created an account on the social media platform TikTok under the account “Justice for GJHS Girls” that, on Dec. 18, 2022, posted a video detailing allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against a current Grand Junction teacher.
GJHS Students marching in protest Headed south on 5th Street, after walking out of school
Scott Crabtree
The walkout and the allegations that led to it were first reported by Grand Junction’s student-run news organization, the Orange and Black, which has pledged to continue reporting on the subject.
“I kept hearing a bunch of other girls coming forward with similar situations that I had,” Deines told The Daily Sentinel on Friday. “I just wanted to put a stop to it since the school wasn’t doing anything about it on their own.”
The group, all donning black long-sleeve shirts and black leggings or pants, marched down Fifth Street before turning west on North Avenue, north on Seventh Street, east on Hall Avenue and south on Fifth Street to return to the school.
Deines said she was inspired by the turnout and the mostly encouraging response by students.
“I’m honestly really surprised to have this much of a response to it,” Deines said. “Most of it has been really, really positive, but there has been a bit of backlash about it. I really didn’t think it would get this far, but I’m really glad it did. It’s getting a lot of recognition to an issue that needed to be addressed a long time ago.”
Grand Junction High School students hold signs after walking out of school on Friday. The walkout was organized after a former student created an account on the social media platform TikTok under the account “Justice for GJHS Girls” that, on Dec. 18, 2022, posted a video detailing allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against a current teacher.
Scott Crabtree
District 51 provided a statement to The Daily Sentinel on behalf of the district and Grand Junction High School:
“District 51 knew that a student-organized walkout would take place this week at Grand Junction High School. The walkout was organized in response to allegations made against school personnel, and those allegations are currently under investigation. The safety and security of our students remain a top priority. We want to assure our students and families that we take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and there was never any safety threat to our students at the time of the walkout. District 51 and local law enforcement were present to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
