Tuesday marked the third consecutive school day in which high school students from Colorado’s Jefferson County (JeffCo) School District staged walkouts in protest of a proposed change the AP U.S. History curriculum. Hundreds of students from six different schools left classes armed with posters to peacefully protest on street corners. The students are angry over what they consider to be the JeffCo School Board attempting to “whitewash” history by intentionally “avoiding material on civil disorder and social strife,” according to a 7News report.

Students see this as an inadmissible act of educational censorship in a country that was founded on acts of civil disobedience. One student pointed out that in our entire history the things that changed America for the better were acts of civil disobedience.

We applaud these students for taking their education into their own hands and standing up for what they believe is right. As students, we have an ability to influence what is included and excluded from our education and when changes are proposed that would limit the kinds of knowledge we have access to, it is our responsibility to fight.

Our generation is one that is often criticized for being apathetic towards policy changes and this student protest proves that not only do we care about issues, but we are willing to make our opinions known and take action against policies we deem oppressive, manipulative, and on the whole, unacceptable.