Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper presents preliminary findings from our ongoing research on the Dallas walkouts in March of 2006. Drawing on journalistic accounts of the events of March 27-28 and data from in depth interviews with students involved in the protests, we outline four major themes highlighted by the student walkouts protesting legislation to criminalize undocumented immigrants and their supporters: the role of rapid communication mediated by social networking software, the spontaneity of the events, and the stirring emotions that attended the walkouts and lingered long after the events. These themes recall insights from the collective behavior tradition and support more recent calls by social movement scholars to attend to the role of emotions, ambiguity, and mystery in protest mobilizations.