On May 2, 1960 at approximately 10 a.m., a number of Redwood students, mostly upperclassmen, left school without permission and went to San Quentin to protest the highly controversial execution of convicted kidnapper and sex offender Caryl Chessman. According to Marilee Rogers, Class of 1961, around 110 of these students were suspended upon their return to school.

Chessman’s trip to the gas chamber drew enormous protest worldwide, mainly because his trial was supposedly mishandled and filled with inconsistencies, but also due to the fact that he did not kill or even severely injure any of his victims. A statute on the books in California at that time classified kidnapping as a capital offense under certain circumstances, and because Chessman had allegedly removed his victims from their automobiles prior to sexually abusing them, the jury found him eligible for the death penalty.

According to library assistant Karen Barrett, Class of 1963, the students’ protest was for the most part a case of teenage rebellion.

 “I think it was just a bunch of kids that thought it would be cool to go over there. [But] there was probably some leader who was very, very passionate about being against the death penalty,” she said.

When the execution was over, most of the students returned to Redwood. Teachers waiting at the entrance to the parking lot took down their names, and all of them were subsequently suspended. However, a number of the protesters did not come back to school and instead went over to Drake. Those students were never caught or punished.

The walk-out did not come as a surprise to Barrett.

 “I knew that something was going to happen. I remember thinking ‘I wonder when that’s all going to happen,’ because there was talk about it.”

She recalled being in a math class on the second floor when the students left. At the time, Doherty Drive did not exist and the only exit from the parking lot was via William Avenue. Because of the May heat, most of the windows in the main building were open, allowing everyone to hear the commotion in the lot.

“I could see the cars, because our teacher let us go up to the window. He said, ‘It will be interesting to see if they can make a difference, but I doubt it,’” Barrett said.

The incident involved students from around the district, according to Barrett.

 “They were supposed to be from Drake, and then we were told also that they were coming from Tam, and this was the meeting place,” she said. “Juniors and seniors just left their classrooms, and went down into the parking lot.”

According to Barrett, school officials did nothing to stop the students from leaving.

“I don’t think the administration knew it was going to happen, or if they did, they certainly didn’t have police here or anything like that,” Barrett said. “These kids just got up and walked to their cars, and they all drove off. They beeped their horns, and stuff like that.”

While school officials did not make any effort to stop the walkout, Barrett knew that the students involved in the incident would not go unpunished.

“I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re going to get in trouble,’” she said.