We Join the National School Walkout #Enough

Cars honk in agreement.

We can stand up for what we think.

We have a voice.

We can affect people.

We can make a difference.

#ChangeStartsHere


From Sarah, a poem:

The Walkout

With silence

Strong silence

Using our silence

As our weapon

Peaceful weapon

Unlike the weapons we protest against

Guns

All guns

Used to kill

Out here on a cold March day

Think about ones lost

Selfless in the cold

Huddle together for warmth like lost penguins

With signs hanging limply from our frozen fingers

Connect

Cold on the outside

On the inside warmth spreads

Pride

We are together

One community

17 dead

17

Countless injuries

Many witnesses

Signs hoist slogans like

“The world is made of life, not guns. #LREI”

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin

“We can get gun control!”

“Make art, not guns. Make poems, not guns. Make music, not guns. You get the idea.”

“Love = love. Guns = hate. *Why add more hate to this world?!?”

“We certainly don’t understand why it is harder to make plans with friends on weekends than it is to buy a semi – automatic weapon” – Emma Gonzalez

“We’re children. You guys are the adults. Get something done.” – Parkland Shooting Survivor

Cars honk in agreement

We can stand up for what we think

We have a voice

We can affect people

We can make a difference

“#ChangeStartsHere”


From Harley, a report:

Almost all of the Fourth Grade and Middle schoolers at LREI were at the walk-out, exactly a month after the Stoneman Douglas School shooting. They were holding up signs that said things like “Make art, not guns, make poems, not guns, make music, not guns, you get the idea.”, “Love=Love Guns=Hate. *Why add more hate to the world?” and, “The world is made of life, not guns. #Lrei”. We stood at Little Red Square in silence. But, other people participating chanted things like “Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have you killed today?” We went outside at 10:00 AM and went back inside at 10:17 AM (some students stayed out for an extra minute to show support for the people that witnessed it and for the people who were injured).

The reason we went out was to show that children can make a difference, and to show support for anyone who has been through a shooting. Some people driving past Sixth Avenue honked the horns of their cars and trucks to show support. It felt really good to know that other people agreed with us and that people cared about what we had to say.

I really like that the teachers gave us the opportunity to participate. In some schools, children would be suspended if they chose to walk out. But some of those students walked out any way. I hope that the government will change gun laws so that a school shooting like this never happens again.


From fourth graders during a discussion after the walkout: 

“Every time I felt cold I thought to myself I am freezing then I remembered the families who lost someone in the shooting.”

“I was happy that we actually got a chance to protest.”

“We were showing the world that even kids in the fourth grade can say what they think.”

“I felt happy it affected people walking by.”


From Sebastian, a news report:

On Wednesday, March 14, fourth graders walked out of their classrooms and onto the the sidewalk of Sixth Avenue. They were the youngest kids protesting too. Fourth graders fought for safer gun laws. They were representing the younger kids at LREI. A fourth grade student named Sebastian declared, “We shouldn’t have to go out of the school day to protest for safer gun laws.” That was very powerful and meaningful and most 4th graders agree.

Students saw random strangers taking photos of the peaceful protest. “It was amazing!” said Theo, another fourth grader. The signs were well-made and made sense. There were a lot of cars and trucks honking as they drove past the young protesters.

The walk-out was very emotional. Some grown-ups, like Sebastian’s mom and Deborah, the head teacher of DS4, were crying at the sight of all of the students protesting.           

One fourth grader, Bo, came up with the idea to stay out for two more minutes to honor the people who were injured in the Florida shooting. His classmates agreed, so they stayed outside for two extra minutes.

Not only the fourth graders protested, LREI middle school and high school students participated too. Also, students all over the United States of America protested for better gun laws.

The next day, fourth grade teacher, Deborah read a news article about a girl in Wisconsin who was the only student in her school to walk out. She sat outside under a flagpole for 17 minutes by herself. Deborah said, “It reminded me how fortunate we are to be in a community that is actively engaged in social justice issues.”