Walkouts occurred in Gillette, Cheyenne, Rock Springs, Rawlins, Cody, Riverton, Lander and Jackson. And, frankly, there are some students who have equally challenging home lives as well, and parents who simply don’t do their jobs. Some even marched to the courthouse carrying signs. As students, we want more than just a conversation about the issue of gun violence; we want action.
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Because the assault took place across the street from the school and technically off campus, it remains unclear what action the school will take, but MPS spokesman Dirk Tedmon said the district will follow their behavior standards policy for discipline.
Other schools approached this as a valuable learning experience.
Following Wednesday’s protests, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a almost unanimous bill that increases school safety investments, but does not address gun control issues.
Portland High School Principal Sheila Jepson and Mayor Ethan Strimling were on hand to observe the Monument Square demonstration.
They lined up briefly along Grand, waved their signs and cheered as passing motorists honked their horns in approval, before heading back to school. At Academy Del Sol, students prayed with youth pastors from The Worship Center underneath the school’s flag pole. After 15 minutes of calls, the students spent two minutes in silence, honoring the victims. But their willingness to take a peaceful and constructive stand should be commended. They placed flowers in a center of a circle.
Calling it a “memorable moment”, Gonzalez and Perez both said they have become more politically aware in recent weeks and see themselves continuing to do what they can to get legislators to change gun laws.
And organizers of the March for Our Lives rally say they expect hundreds of thousands to come the nation’s capital on March 24 for their protest event.
The Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, encouraged its students to take part in some kind of alternative, prayerful show of solidarity rather than the walkout, citing concerns about some of the sponsors of the national walkout as well as safety concerns.
Police in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta patrolled Kell High, where students were threatened with unspecified consequences if they participated.
But Parkland and Allentown School Districts planned school events and told students they would face punishment if they walked out on Wednesday. “It could have happened here”. Shapiro and Cohen are planning to find ways to keep their fellow students engaged on the issue, including by organizing students to contact their local representatives. The silence was broken up only by the occasional short speech from some of the assembled students.
Many of these student will be allowed to make up the exams they missed, but not all of them.
Freshman Andrea Jordan said she just wanted to honor the 17 people who died.
“I think the walkout turned out to be great”, Watts said. “That should never be anything anybody should be OK with”.
The Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, said on Twitter that several of the schools participated in the national walkout and held prayer services afterward.
Across the country, many students of color who participated in the National School Walkout on Wednesdaytried to deliver a simple message: Reducing gun violence is about more than stopping mass shootings in schools.
“When we are taking about political activism, we have a responsibility to remain neutral”. “All of us have different reasons for being here”.
About 200 students walked out of Holmes for a series of protest activities concluding with a “die in” as the names of the 17 Parkland, Florida victims were read. By moving out of their comfort zones and helping their peers feel more welcome, the theory goes, students could potentially head off angry impulses or an outbreak of violence.
“We didn’t only walk out for the 17 lives in Florida but we walked out for the 17 lives we lost here”.
In Lander, 75-100 students gathered for speeches.
– When students across the country walked out of school Wednesday morning, students at Raleigh Charter High School picked up their phones.
“People can have their guns but the weapons industry + NRA only care about profits, so guns need to be regulated”, his sign stated. It’s about safety and about feeling safe in our schools.
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But the walkout was supposed to be a protest.
