North High teachers rock out for ICE-impacted students
North High social studies teacher fronted his band, Pellicant, during a benefit show last month to raise money for students impacted by ICE raids earlier this year. Photo by David Pierini
By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter
The last day of school at North High was a Wednesday in June. However, a final staff meeting took place that week at Mortimer's Bar in Uptown to end what they called one of the darkest years as educators.
They hosted a show on June 12 to raise funds for the Northside Mutual Aid Fund, which supports many of the school's students and families impacted by Operation Metro Surge by providing groceries and rental assistance.
“Right now (the U.S. is) spending a trillion dollars on ICE and Metro Surge,” social studies teacher Samuel Wilbur, lead singer of the band Pelicant, yelled to the crowd. “Does that make your lives better?”
The crowd responded with an emphatic “No!”
“There's power in the people and there's people who have the power, doing everything in their power trying to take it all from us,” he continued. “There’s more of us than them… I love you North High School. We can take on anything together.”
Career and College Center Coordinator Tina Kue, left, and Patience Dolo, a counselor, cheer on the bands. Shoutouts were given to every teacher and staff member before performances began. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
The three bands on that night’s line-up, Ghost Mouth, Pelicant and Sub Zenith, are fronted by North High School teachers.
Their high school was the birthplace of the fund, which started as a meeting between teachers to help their students. It became one of the biggest financial lifelines for families. As of June, that fund has raised over $750,000 and continues to serve over 300 families with rental assistance and groceries.
This is the second benefit led by Wilbur. In April, he performed at Sociable Cider, where they raised $500. The performance in June took home $700.
Reports of encounters with ICE in the city have been quieter in recent months, but staff said it’s dangerous to call Metro Surge “over.” The lingering impacts are leaving their students with housing and food crises.
“People were unable to work for three months nonstop and lost their jobs,” Wilbur said. “Now they are struggling to find a new job, or they’re months behind on rent, or homeless and sleeping on a couch in someone else's house. The need is just as strong as it's been, and all of the resources slowly dried up.”
History teacher and Northsider Tom Lachermeier described a unique way in which North High School staff and Northsiders took care of each other during Metro Surge.
“There is an old school blue collar response from this community,” he said. “People really go to bat for kids and families. It's a Northside thing. When Julio Sosa-Celis was shot on Lyndale Ave., the community responded and literally walked ICE back out.”
Lachermeier is referring to Jan. 14 when ICE agents shot Northsider Julio Sosa Celis in the leg through the door of his Lyndale home. Lachemeier was one of many teachers who responded to the scene that night.
A staff like no other
In his seven years of teaching, Steven Weeks, reading interventionist and lead singer of Sub Zenith, called North High staff the most cohesive organization he’s ever worked with.
Tyler Salone, North High's geometry and stats teacher, hugs Samuel Wilbur on the way into the show. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
“What really struck me was looking over the cafeteria during the lunches, and half of the population was missing,” Weeks said. “We were in the thick of it, delivering food and making sure these kids got some semblance of normalcy and an education. It was just the longest, darkest winter that I can remember.”
Weeks said he recently formed Sub Zenith just to perform for the benefit concert.
“It’s our first gig, and we’re already headliners,” Weeks joked.
He performed a song called “ICE Out!” that addressed the feelings of living under occupation.
“The body remembers, the body keeps score, and there's still wounds, there's still scars, there’s just this constant cycle of trauma that's happening in the city, even if 100% of the agents got out of the city, it wouldn’t be over in our minds,” he said.
A missing piece to the class of 2026
A student in particular was heavy on the minds of most staff that night. Jairo Pitalasig, a senior, was detained and deported by ICE along with his father and uncle in January.
He took classes with both Wilbur and Sean Levine, the music and lead singer of Ghost Mouth. A GoFundMe was published to support Pitalasig’s transition back to Ecuador where he made it safely but was unable to graduate with the class of 2026.
“It was super painful,” Weeks said. “This really vibrant kid who just–every time you pass him, you smile at him, or fist bump, because he just had that energy that drew you into it, and then it's gone.”
Wilbur wrote an ICE protest song called “Fight This” and played it live across the Twin Cities during Operation Metro Surge to raise money for Pitalasig’s family. He raised over $2,000 for his family. The song was featured on 89.3 The Current. People can still download the song to help support Jairo's family here.
The room remained cautiously optimistic about the year to come
“It may seem less intense at the moment, and it's been fun to see more people out and about in the community that was in hiding for months, but just based on what legislation is passing and based on who our current president is, I would say just be very careful that things are over,” Lachemeir said. “We live in a resilient community. We serve resilient kids and resilient families. I’m cautiously optimistic, but kids give us a lot of hope.”