On 3/14, Coronado was one of thousands of schools that participated in a school walkout in the United States. Between the time of 10:00-10:17 on the morning of Wednesday, hundreds of students gathered in the Coronado courtyard to be a part of the peaceful protest of the current gun policies. Schools all around the country held similar protests, all in response to the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida exactly one month prior.

The majority of responses from government officials and politicians has been “Thoughts and prayers” to the victims. Students are fed up with this empty response and want action. Too many innocent children and people have been killed in the wake of weapons of mass massacre being sold to the general public with little background check (gun buying laws vary from state to state).

The school walkout on 3/14 involved students and teachers respectfully walking out of school into the courtyard for 17 minutes to honor the 17 lives lost during the Florida shootings. During the walkout, students spoke out against the violence in schools and pleaded for the need of tighter gun laws in order to prevent the loss of more innocent lives. Speakers included students Ellie Myers, 10, Alexa huesgen-Hobbs, 11, and Deanna Cooper, 12. Cooper then led the students outdoors in a march around the courtyard. “[The walkout] definitely exceeded my expectations in a really positive way,” Cooper says about the walkout, “We had so many different people and different perspectives all around us, it was just so good to have that much support. I’ve never seen that many Coronado kids all be completely silent all at once like that.”  

When will there finally be a change, though? On 3/20, only a month after the Florida school shooting, an armed student shot multiple students in Great Mills High School in Maryland. The male student shot is in stable condition, while the female student is in critical condition. The only student that died was the shooter. The armed campus guard did exchange gunfire with the shooter, but it is unclear whether the shooter died by suicide or the guard’s gunfire. The school is only 65 miles southeast of Washington DC. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says “prayers are not enough”.

This shooting comes only 4 days before March for Our Lives, a march inspired to protest gun violence by the tragic events of Florida’s school shooting, and less than a week after the walk out, which Great Mills High School participated in.

Cooper adds on the Great Mills shooting, “For the future, we hope for common sense gun laws. Now more than ever since it hasn’t stopped. Hearing about Maryland broke my heart, and no one is really talking about it which is even more frustrating.”

On Saturday 3/24, March for Our Lives will take place in Washington DC, as well as marches taking place in sister cities all over the country. In Colorado, there is going to be a march at the state capitol building in Denver on Saturday 3/24, from 2 to 5 pm. Colorado Springs is also having a march, taking place Saturday 3/24 from 12 to 3 pm at Acacia Park. This march acts as a follow up to the school walkout and as a demand for legislators to do something about the issue.

If you can’t make it out to the march, another way you can get involved is to vote! Voting is one of the most important rights we have in this country. And if you’re not old enough to vote, then write to your state representatives! We can make a change. Cooper also believes that the youth of this nation can and will be the voice of change for this country: “If our legislation is going to sit there and do nothing as kids are dying, then we’ll vote people into office who will actually make a change. I also hope that the movement will encourage young adults to be more involved in politics and to really get educated so that WE can make a change if no one else will.”

• More information on March for Our Lives
• The Instagram for Coronado’s walkout: @coronadowalkout
• Sources: BBC & CNN