Thousands of students expected to take part in National School Walkout
Thousands of students and teachers are planning to walk out of their classrooms on Wednesday as part of the the #Enough! National School Walkout to raise awareness about issues of school safety and gun violence.
Time magazine reports that the nationwide march, organized by Women’s March Youth Empower, will happen at 10 a.m. and last 17 minutes.
The length of the march was determined by devoting one minute for each person killed in the Feb. 14 shooting Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
The suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been indicted on 17 counts of first-degree premeditated murder, and 17 counts of first-degree attempted murder.
The organizers of the March 14 walkout say they want the protest to be a call to action for Congress to pass gun control legislation, according to the event’s website.
“We view this work as part of an ongoing and decades-long movement for gun violence prevention, in honor of all victims of gun violence — from James Brady to Trayvon Martin to the 17 people killed in Parkland,” the Women’s March Youth Empower website says
The Women’s March Youth Empower website has a tool to search for a schools where a walkout is planned. The website also has resources for students, teachers, parents, and administration officials on how to have a safe and productive walkout.
But not all school districts are on board with the planned protest. Ahead of the proposed walkout, some schools have warned students against participating it it.
For those who aren’t students or teachers, the #Enough organizers are asking people to wear orange, which is associated with gun violence prevention, or stage workplace walkouts for 17 minutes.
On Saturday, March 24, the Parkland student survivors have organized March For Our Lives, which will take place in Washington, D.C., and numerous sister sites around the world.
And there is another walkout planned for April 20, the 19-year anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. The protest, dubbed the National High School Walkout, encourages participants to walk out of their classrooms at 10 a.m. on April 20 and leave school for the day.
