A few hundred students from Walpole High congregated outside for 17 minutes on Thursday, March 15 to peacefully protest the lives lost at the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
As students pooled into the front entrance of the school, organizers handed out flyers with the 17 names of the students killed in the Florida shooting. First, senior Dana DeMartino read a speech written by classmate Ellen Irmiter, who attended a speech tournament with students from the Florida school.
“I remember when I learned about the shooting, I did not realize for almost a week that we had competed with these students and I even follow one of the students on Instagram,” Irmiter said. “Their speech team has been so active in their message that I felt like we owed it to them to stand with their school.”
Senior Lindsey Sullivan spoke, encouraging all to engage in 17 acts of kindness to honor the lives lost. Sullivan asked students to make a phone call to tell someone that they appreciate them and care for them.
“We can make a change in WHS by being kinder to each other,” Sullivan said. “In times of tragedy, it’s important to come together as a school and a community.”
Senior Ryan Conlon spoke and stressed the consequences of not educating students about mental health and the need to implement safety features in school.
“There are things that the students only notice and we felt as though we could come together and fix the problems in our school,” Conlon said. “It starts with us.”
The National Walk-Out date was planned for Wednesday, March 14; however, due to a snow day, Walpole High School rescheduled for Thursday. Even with the change, the Walk-Out still garnered hundreds of student participants.
“The turnout showed a huge response and raised awareness to the ongoing issue of gun violence” sophomore Jeni Atallah said.
Although many students chose to walk out, others chose to remain inside, as they had strong views on gun control. “I chose not to walk out because I believe that guns don’t kill people—people kill people,” senior Danny O’Leary said.
While some students chose not to participate in the Walk-Out, the students who organized the efforts were pleased with the turnout and the eagerness of the students involved.
“I am surprised at how many people walked out,” DeMartino said. “It’s nice to see I live in a generation is not afraid to take a stand for what they believe in.”
Credits:
Caroline Pitman