Gun Control Walk-Out

Since the February 14th school shooting in Parkland, Florida, students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have rallied together to say “#NeverAgain” to mass shootings. A rally held at the Florida State Capitol Building has set off a nationwide trend of protests and school walkouts to implore lawmakers to set stricter gun control regulations. Thousands of high school students students across the country have been inspired by the activism of the Parkland survivors, and are planning to leave class at 10 a.m. on March 14th for 17 minutes in a statement of their desire to stop gun violence in schools. Will Derryfield join them?

Senior Henna Malik believes we should. “High school students should be in a safe environment, getting an education, but instead they’re having to grieve the loss of classmates from an event that should never have happened in the first place,” she said in an interview.

There have been eighteen school shootings so far this year, which has left some students feeling hopeless that policy steps will be taken to prevent people like Nikolas Cruz, the alleged perpetrator of the Parkland shooting, from getting semiautomatic and automatic rifles. “How many more kids will die?” read one sign at a rally in Montgomery County, Maryland.

But Henna said that demonstrations like this could possibly be the event that finally sparks real change for gun reform. “This is about kids, which I think makes it more emotional,” she said. “These are their classmates. They’re supposed to be growing up together in a safe environment but that’s been tainted by the shootings. Still, you could have a million people in this walk-out but nothing will change unless our political leaders take action on gun control.”

Ms. Llewelyn, a science teacher at Derryfield, stressed the idea that even students who are not of voting age can make a difference through demonstrations like the March 14th walkouts. “Even if you’re not voting right now, you are in politicians’ faces right now as thousands of people saying ‘we’re sick of this,’” she said.

And soon, high school students will be of voting age, able to influence the outcome of political elections and possibly change gun control policies. But until then, Ms. Llewelyn says, the power of teenagers can be “focused on communicating with the people who can make that change faster than your vote can.” And that’s why thousands of teenagers are choosing to walk out of class next Wednesday morning.

Concord High School plans to use their 17 minutes to walk to the close-by State Capitol building, as the students in Parkland did. However, if Derryfield wants to participate, we’ll need to find a place a bit closer to school to make our stand. Should it be calling and emailing our senators and representatives for 17 minutes? Should it be signing a petition? Should it be a memorial for the victims of the Parkland shooting? If you have input or ideas on what Derryfield’s walkout should look like, fill out Bella Hoang ‘18’s survey, or email Mr. Dougherty at bdougherty@derryfield.org.