Students demonstrate over disbanded clubs, the removal or review of course materials and policies geared toward eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives during a walkout at Humphreys High School on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 6, 2025. (Fiona Yang)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Hundreds of Defense Department students in Europe and Asia staged a walkout Thursday to rally against the removal of diversity initiatives, symbols and ideas in their schools as part of the largest student-led demonstrations so far this year on U.S. military bases.

The first demonstration was at Humphreys High School in South Korea, where about 175 students walked out of class starting at 8:30 a.m. for about 50 minutes.

In Europe, about 225 students at Ramstein High School left classes and circled the high school track, carrying signs with slogans such as “Solidarity in Diversity” and “Censorship is Un-American,” according to images shared with Stars and Stripes.

Across town, roughly 100 students at Kaiserslautern High School gathered in a courtyard for about 25 minutes, while about 150 participants joined the walkout at Wiesbaden High School, people who were there said.

The Department of Defense Education Activity manages 161 schools with more than 66,000 students from families of U.S. military personnel and DOD civilians worldwide.

Tristan, 18, a senior who helped plan the Ramstein demonstration, said students coordinated with some of the other schools to “try and make it the biggest walkout in DODEA history.”

Students demonstrate against recent policy changes during a planned walkout at Humphreys High School on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 6, 2025. (Kaylee Harris)

A Ramstein High School student holds up a sign during a walkout on March 6, 2025, outside the school. More than 200 students at Ramstein participated in the walkout. (Courtesy photo)

More than 200 students at Ramstein High School in Germany walk around the track March 6, 2025, demonstrating against the removal of clubs, books and other materials deemed part of diversity efforts. (Courtesy photo)

Students at Ramstein High School walk around the track March 6, 2025, to demonstrate against the removal of clubs, books and other materials deemed part of diversity efforts at schools. The walkout coincided with similar demonstrations at other Defense Department high schools in Germany and one in South Korea. (Courtesy photo)

Students hold up a banner at Ramstein High School as they walk around the track March 6, 2025, to support school programs deemed to fall under diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Pentagon has required Defense Department schools to review or remove material and programs that may be considered DEI-related. (Courtesy photo)

Our message is “to show that even though we may be kids … we definitely still have a voice,” he said by phone Wednesday night. “As the next generation of voters, we can choose how we’re going to live the rest of our lives. We can speak out.”

Some students who spoke to Stars and Stripes asked to go by their first names to protect their parents from potential retribution. All students quoted are legally adults or said they spoke with their parents’ blessings.

Stars and Stripes was not permitted to take photos or interview students during the walkouts and was barred from observing the demonstration at Ramstein.

DODEA requires parental consent for media engagement with students who are minors, coordination that was not possible in advance without knowing which students would take part, DODEA said in a statement Thursday.

“We acknowledge students’ right to express themselves at school; however, it is important to clarify that we do not endorse walkouts,” DODEA-Europe spokeswoman Jessica Tackaberry said in a statement Thursday. “We have taken proactive steps to deescalate the situation, ensure student safety, and prevent disruption to the instructional day.”

The 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein said it recognizes the student concerns over recent school policy changes.

“We are thankful the events today were conducted safely,” the wing said in a statement Thursday.

The students on Thursday pushed back against Pentagon directives to eliminate books, clubs, programs, signs, curriculum and materials considered to be part of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The changes stem from executive orders issued to end DEI programs in the military and in schools, including one titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also has criticized diversity efforts as divisive.

“Our diversity is not our strength,” Hegseth said while speaking about the military in a Jan. 29 Fox News interview. “Our unity and our shared purpose is our strength.”

About 50 students at Patch Middle School were the first in DODEA to stage a walkout that coincided with the Feb. 11 visit by Hegseth to Stuttgart for high-level meetings.

Students at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany, hold up a banner and signs at a demonstration March 6, 2025. About 150 students left class to demonstrate against the removal or review of diversity-related material and organizations at their school. (Courtesy photo)

Wiesbaden High school senior Molly Singleton, left, and junior Abryana Avila organize a student-led demonstration at their school on March 6, 2025. About 150 students left class to demonstrate against the removal or review of diversity-related material and organizations at their school. (Courtesy photo)

Students hold up a banner at Wiesbaden High School in Germany, March 6, 2025, to demonstrate against the removal and review of materials and organizations that are considered to be part of diversity efforts. Some faces have been blurred because it wasn’t immediately known whether those students had signed consent forms allowing their photos to be taken in school. (Courtesy photo)

A Wiesbaden High School student holds up a sign March 6, 2025, to express opposition to the removal and review of materials and organizations aimed at promoting diversity. The face of the student in the background has been blurred because it wasn't immediately known whether the student had signed a consent form allowing photos to be taken in school. (Courtesy photo)

Students at Ramstein High School in Germany demonstrated on March 6, 2025, in support of diversity programs, clubs and material that have recently been removed or are under review following Pentagon directives. (Courtesy photo)

There also have been demonstrations in Japan at Nile C. Kinnick High School on Yokosuka Naval Base and at Kadena High School.

At Ramstein, Tristan said the school’s Pride Club exists under a new name but it can’t engage in any activities. He said he’s been subjected to more homophobic harassment at school and on base since the new policies have been enacted.

Tristan also lamented that scores of books had been removed from library shelves. DODEA officials say that the books remain under review and have been set aside in the schools.

At Humphreys, student-created news videos covering topics such as Black History Month are still allowed but will no longer be shared on the school’s social media accounts, senior Ava Edington said Wednesday at the base library.

Fellow senior James West, a four-year member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, said he felt a sense of duty to participate in the walkout.

“Obviously, my opinions don’t represent JROTC or the U.S. Army, but one of the first lessons that we learn is to stand up for ourselves, to stand up for what we believe is right and to be a voice for other people,” he said. “I think that’s still one of the most important lessons that I’ve learned.”

In Wiesbaden, senior Molly Singleton, 18, helped organize Thursday’s demonstration at her school.

Singleton said that prior to the Pentagon-directed changes, some teachers had hung signs on their doors indicating their classroom was a place where students feeling harassed or bullied could find support. Those signs have since been removed.

The walkout is “a demonstration of unity,” she said.

“We stand together to reaffirm our commitment to inclusivity and to show that no policy can take away the culture of acceptance that we have built,” Singleton said.

Stars and Stripes reporter David Choi contributed to this report from Camp Humphreys, South Korea.