Oliver Ames students are planning a walkout on March 14 in response to the Parkland, Fla. high school shooting. On February 14, a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., opened fire on his classmates and teachers, killing 17 and injuring 14.
During vacation, several OA students banded together and went to Principal Paul to discuss a walkout at our own school, just like other schools nationwide. Mr. Paul agreed to allow students to walkout.
Mr. Paul said, “I want to make my students as happy as they can be in school and learning as much as they can but this [is] a teachable moment.”
On March 14 at 10:00 a.m., during advisory, students can walk out for 17 minutes to memorialize the dead and protest gun laws.
Senior Hannah To, one of the students who approached Mr. Paul to advocate for the walkout, said, “we’re protesting because our elected officials are failing to protect students in this country. We believe that this has to change and we want to stand in solidarity with the students in Parkland.”
Each minute of the walkout is dedicated to one of the 17 victims of the shooting. Anyone wishing to protest is allowed to walk out of the school through the atrium doors and walk around the track until 10:17. Thereafter the school day will continue with third block.
Mr. Paul said as long as no one leaves school property and follows these guidelines, no disciplinary actions will take place.
In the coming weeks, there will also be an open forum on the Parkland shooting at Oliver Ames, where both students and teachers will be able to publicly voice their opinions on gun control laws, reactions to the Parkland shooting, and other grievances attached to the tragedy.
Mr. Paul has encouraged all students to participate in the forum, saying that he wants to “let both sides of the issue talk.” During this forum, all opinions are encouraged regardless of political ideology. This forum welcomes everybody and everybody’s opinions so don’t be afraid to express what you think. We are hoping that everybody gets the chance to voice their opinions to the public. We wish to see you there. The date of this event will be announced soon.
The Florida school shooter showed signs of mental duress that were ignored by many adults. As students, we should never be afraid to share with adults we are close to and comfortable with ideas about suspicious activity on any social media accounts that we might come across. Accusing someone of planning or partaking in something as heinous as a school shooting may be extremely uncomfortable, but it is our responsibility to discreetly take note of such suspicious activity and report it to the appropriate adults.
The “See something, say something” culture is one that needs to be absolutely in the minds of all students now more than ever in the wake of a terrible tragedy. Speaking up, no matter how uncomfortable, is a key preventative measure in getting troubled students the help they need so that events like the one at Parkland do not happen again.