Enough is ENOUGH; Students Walk Out Against Gun Violence
On February 14, 2018, seventeen people were killed and seventeen more were wounded in a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Survivors and their allies have been inspired by the tragedy to fight against more school shootings. They inspired a national school walkout which was reflected through the actions of students across the country.
On Wednesday, March 14, 2018, Cliffside Park High School,participated in the nationwide protest. At 10 a.m., for seventeen minutes, we sat in silence outside our classrooms to commemorate the seventeen victims killed at Stoneman Douglas. Flashes of orange were everywhere to remind us of Parkland’s shooting and its survivors’ fight for more gun safety. Students carried signs that opposed the NRA including “Hey NRA; how many kids have you killed today?”, “March for our lives” and “Make it stop”. Images of students posters were tweeted and continue to be liked and retweeted days after the event.
While students sat in silence, student council members named and read biographies for each of the shooting victims. One teacher reflected, “I felt like we commemorated what happened a month ago perfectly.” While the original plan was to have all of the participants walk out of the school and on to the football field, the remnants of a nor'easter’s snow and low temperatures prevented this from happening. The student government had to revert to their indoor plan instead of going out to the field. Due to this change, some students feel that staying indoors did not fulfill the purpose of the event. They say that by not going outside, it was no longer a “walk out.” “Without anyone outside of the school to see that we protested, our message wasn’t heard so the walkout did not fulfill its purpose of publicizing changes towards gun safety,” said one student. Another student, disagreed, they said: “By sitting in silence, whether inside or outside, we still honored the victims.”
Whatever your opinion on the subject is, it cannot be denied that the movement is an honorable one. Students are taking a stand to prevent another tragedy. We do not want to see another shooting on the news where politicians offer “thoughts and prayers.” Thoughts and prayers are not the solution to gun violence. Taking a stand can be.