Teacher protests across the country have garnered widespread attention. This qualitative study explores the role of future teachers in these protests by questioning what leads future teachers to join teacher rallies, what they learn as a result of participating, and how they perceive their experiences will impact their teaching. Data sources include photo elicitation interviews with five pre-service teachers who attended a major rally in Kentucky. Findings indicate that the participants found themselves caught between competing ideologies of their university and clinical placement communities and the larger social and political context. As a result, they struggled with the tensions between becoming an educational activist while also attempting to remain neutral in their professional lives.