Printer Friendly Version - DHHS Students Participate in National School Walkout

DHHS student Steven Kao reads a poem by Parkland shooting survivor Cas Becher as students participate in a “lie down” for three minutes. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Source

At 9:30 a.m. students at Daniel Hand High School (DHHS) got up from their desks, left their classrooms, and participated in the National School Walkout on March 14. Thousands of high schools around the country are participating in the walkout today in honor of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida and to protest legislative inaction to gun violence in schools.

The event at DHHS was student organized and student run. A special schedule was created for the day, giving students an hour-long block to walk out of their classes and report to the gym if they wished to participate. Students who opted not to participate reported to the library and no student left the building during the hour for safety reasons.

At the appointed time, those students participating left their classrooms and crossed over the bridge from the east building to the west building as the band played “America the Beautiful”. Once in the gym, members of the Student Leadership group addressed their peers and then all students were invited to participate in a “lie down” for three minutes – representing the amount of time it takes for an individual to purchase a gun in some states.

DHHS junior Kate Klein spoke to start the program and said while she was thankful to see so many gathered today, she is upset it has to happen at all.

“Without our demands, without our screams for change, children will continue to face down the barrel of a gun in their school hallways, begging for their lives in a place where they were supposed to learn,” she said. “…With our government’s detrimental inaction, it’s up to us, the students, to stop these catastrophes. We need to remember that we, a nation of students, cannot stand for this apathy. We as American students do not stand for gun violence. We demand safety in our schools and we demand that these massacres stop. We demand never again.”

At 10 a.m., students who wanted to participate in the National School Walkout, moved from the gym to the Assembly Hall were they stayed for 17 minutes to represent the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Throughout the hour students had the opportunity to record video messages for legislators and write letters to legislators or letters of support to students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Madison Police officers were on hand throughout the event, State Representative Noreen Kokoruda attended, and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy sent a video message to DHHS students.

Daniel Hand High School took part in the National School Walkout on March 14, starting with a video message from Senator Chris Murphy, student speeches, a letter writing option to send a note to their congressmen, senators, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; as well as an opportunity for students to step forward and share their thoughts with the assembly. Here, Jessica Keen holds up a sign that reads "How many deaths does it take?"