HHS students walkout in support of ending gun violence
Mar 14, 2018
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Shannon Maroney, senior, gazes over the crowd of HHS and NJH students participating in the walkout.
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Shannon Maroney, senior, reads her speech to the crowd.
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Ian Feagler, senior, speaks to the crowd of hundreds of walkout participants.
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Shannon Maroney, senior, reads a speech to participants of the walkout. Maroney encourage students to hold their representatives, especially those receiving donations from the National Rifle Association, accountable.
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Shannon Maroney, senior, gives her speech to walkout participants.
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Students from NJH enter the bus loop to join HHS students in their walkout on March 14.
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Students hold posters that promoted an end to gun violence in schools.
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Ben Herstig, senior, leads the crowd in chants.
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Miranda Shapiro, senior, asks the crowd for a moment a silence in memory of the 17 victims of the shooting in Parkland.
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Miranda Shapiro, senior, addresses the crowd via megaphone during the walkout. Shapiro led cheers and rallying cries to end gun violence.
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Ilham Nur, senior, collects donations to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization that combats gun violence and promotes gun control measures.
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Shannon Maroney, senior, leads the crowd during the walkout.
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Miranda Shapiro, senior, holds onto her megaphone as she listens to Shannon Maroney, senior, speak.
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Students bow their heads in a moment of silence in memory of the 17 victims of the shooting in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14.
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Members of the crowd chant, record, and rally for change during the walkout.
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Shannon Maroney, senior, points to a voter registration booth set up by leaders of the walkout. Maroney urged those who would be eligible to vote by the November federal election to register.
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The crowd cheers in support of walkout leaders’ rallying cries to end gun violence, enact gun control measures, and to get involved in the political process.
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Ben Herstig, senior, speaks to the crowd of HHS and NJH students through a megaphone.
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Ben Herstig and Ian Feagler, seniors, rally the crowd in chants such as, “No more silence. End gun violence.”
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Students file back into HHS in silence after 17 minutes of protest, rallies, and unity during the walkout.
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Students file back into NJH in silence after 17 minutes of protest, rallies, and unity during the walkout. The walkout included participants from both HHS and NJH, uniting across six grades to end gun violence.
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Hundreds of HHS and North Junior High students gathered in the bus loop on March 14 at 10 a.m. after walking out of class in solidarity with the victims of the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
At the front end of the crowd, members and leaders of HHS Responds stood on the bed of a parked truck, rallying students with various chants and impactful posters. To the left, a table encouraging students to register to vote was set up with computers and information. In the crowd were students wanting to make a change.
For Marcella Reese, junior, participating in the walkout gave her hope about the future of the movement.
“It was very powerful seeing everyone united to end gun violence in schools,” Reese said.
Some students took advantage of the gathering as an opportunity to usher in a new generation of voters.
“I hope to see people register to vote and get involved in their community,” said Jensen, junior. “I want people to take this tool with them and stand up to gun violence.”
Others saw the walk out as a significant step in bringing the younger generation into activism, reform, and politics.
“I hope to see out younger generations really strive to make changes in the future, especially because we are the future,” said Rielle Miguel, senior.
Containers were also passed around to raise money for a nonprofit organization called Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Any donation was accepted and appreciated.
Over the course of the 17 designated minutes, Ian Feagler and Shannon Maroney, seniors, stood with megaphone in hand and shared their reason for being there.
“These 17 people were like us, with jobs and homework and normal high school stressors, like parents, friends, and college possibilities.” Maroney said. “But what is not and should not be a normal high school stressor is watching your peers and teachers get shot at, injured, and killed by a former classmate, followed by questioning, accusations, and even victim blaming by our own president.
The walkout ended with a moment of silence, where the 17 names of the people who were killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting were recited, followed by the crowd of HHS and NJH students’ response of “You will be remembered.”
Walkout abstentions reflect diversity of opinion
As school stopped for 17 minutes during the walkout, many classrooms were empty. But in some, one or two students remained.
These students who abstained from the walkout did so for many different reasons. Cody Miller, senior, said that he felt pressured to participate to make a statement.
“Even though I had Study Time, I still had Youtube videos to watch, and I don’t think that anything will change if I walk to the bus loop,” Miller said. “I don’t need to prove to anyone else that I respect the kids who died at Parkland.”
Because administration provided accommodations for students participating in the walkout such as unlocking the doors and allowing classes to pause, this led to more students walking out to support the movement. All teachers were given directions to join their students outside if their whole class walked out, but some also had to stay behind if any students decided to stay behind.
Bruce Russell Jr., senior, said he participated in the walkout for different reasons than most, and that he understand the collective pressure to participate.
“Although I don’t agree with most of the other students on the gun control changes that some want this march to accomplish, I will walkout because I want to respect and mourn the students who were killed at Parkland,” Russell said.