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Walkouts have been a hot topic in the news recently, especially with the Feb. 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, that took 17 lives. This event has elicited mass protests and debate throughout America over how to keep our country safe from domestic attacks, especially mass shootings, in terms of gun regulation. A movement to make schools safer has also risen from this tragedy. In fact, the Women’s March organizers have encouraged students, teachers, and anyone in support of them to join a nationwide Mar. 14 walkout of schools in protest of gun violence.

A statement released by the group expressed its beliefs that “students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way to school….parents have the right to send their kids to school in the mornings and see them home alive at the end of the day.” More specifically, the group has been criticizing how Congress members tweet their “thoughts and prayers” after incidents like the Parkland school shooting, yet have not taken distinct legislative action on gun control.

The Mar. 14 walkout has emerged from EMPOWER, the Women’s March youth branch, and is set to take place exactly one month after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting. It is to begin at 10 a.m. in every time zone and last for 17 minutes to represent the 17 victims of the massacre. In wake of this national walkout announcement, hashtags such as “#NationalSchoolWalkout” and “#ENOUGH” have become extremely popular on social media sites such as Twitter.

The response to this planned walkout has been astounding. Many students have agreed to take part in it, from elementary schools to colleges and universities. One such community is Parkland, Florida, where students who survived the massacre are speaking out so that no other school has to face a similar tragedy. In addition to the Mar. 14 walkout, the Parkland students and survivors are also planning to protest in Washington, D.C. on Mar. 24 in an event they are calling the “March For Our Lives.” On Apr. 20, another national walkout is scheduled to mark the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting in Colorado, a school shooting on Apr. 20, 1999 that took 15 lives. All of these protests and marches are pushing for one common goal: the passing of gun reform by Congress to make American schools safer.

Mrs. Heather Moore, a U.S. History teacher at AHS, shared that “there [has] been a history of walkouts in the past when students want to protest something…there were walkouts related to the Vietnam War, the draft, [and] issues regarding immigration.” In fact, she even shared that she remembers “one particular walkout related to the war in Iraq, the second war in Iraq…American students who chose to walkout of their classrooms.” Thus, the fact that student walkouts are being scheduled is not a new concept.

Mrs. Moore commented that “it’s a very interesting idea of First Amendment rights that students have on campus because the Supreme Court rules that our rights do not end at the school gate…you do have some First Amendment rights on, but you also don’t have complete freedom of speech on campus because you are minors and we are charged with your safety.” She continued, clarifying that “when it comes to the issue of walkouts, if you see schools that are saying that the children are going to get into trouble for it, [it may] not necessarily [be] because they want to squash people’s First Amendment rights… more that they want to make sure the students are safe because when you have students who are not in class during designated class time, there is a concern about their safety.” Because of this, the topic of allowing school walkouts “can be sort of a very touchy and problematic issue when you are on the one hand wanting to foster academic discussions and foster awareness of your rights in a democracy, but at the same time you have to keep children safe.”

Furthermore, junior Katia Landauer thinks “that the cause behind the walkout is important and inspiring” but is concerned about attendance to the walkout because to her, it will be “somewhat pointless to have a walkout if no one participates. If you could somehow get a lot of people to do it, then you would actually be bringing attention to it, but if not then it’s just going to be a failed walkout.”

Although scheduled student walkouts in the next few weeks at schools may elicit debate and raise concerns, they are still being organized with the valuable purpose of making American schools safer. There has been no announcement by school staff or administration of greater disciplinary action or other consequences for students who participate. Let us all recognize this great unification of students across the nation for this noble cause and to make a difference, and let us hope for safer American schools.

Update (3/14/18): At AHS, there has certainly been widespread discussion and acknowledgment of the Mar. 14 walkout. Seniors Frank Lee, Sarah Lee, Yumei Lin, and Sean Lee organized the walkout at AHS. Speaking collectively for all four on the planning group, Frank Lee shared that they decided to organize the event because “we knew that a walkout would occur regardless, but we wanted some sort of organization so that it would be peaceful and effective in producing a message, rather than students just gathering in the Rally Court, unsure of what to do. The walkout was meant to symbolize solidarity with Parkland, and we wanted to make it an organized event that unites Apaches and students across the country alike.”

In their opinion, “the end goal of the walkout isn’t just to simply walk out or leave class for 17 minutes; it’s for students to start to care about the issue. And not only that, it’s telling students across the country who want to join this movement for school safety that if they want to speak up, they’ll have support from many of their peers. We hope that it will be the first step of many that Arcadians take in confronting this issue and that the momentum from this event will lead to productive dialogue and change.”