Over the course of the last few months we have seen a widespread protest, perhaps the largest since the change following the protest for freedoms from our LGBTQ community. In the United States, students and some educators are now chanting through America’s streets, “March for our Lives.” This revolutionary phrase comes after media outlets such as MSNBC and CNN highlights a supposed flux in school shootings. However, not all students participate solely in “walking out,” some students have done group prayers.
A Catholic school in Denver CO whose students decided rather than walk-out, they would instead pray to honor the 17 students from Florida Parkland shooting. The difference? A national walkout for 17 minutes reached a large number of high-schools and colleges throughout the nation. This school’s approach is similar to what is being suggested by right-wing politics. Where as a nation, America should incorporate God back into the foundation of this country. Thus, these students did a prayer to intercede on behalf of the “souls” that were lost during this unfortunate event in U.S history.
There are three sides to these walk-outs. According to a post published by the Washington Post, there were tens of thousands of students that walked out during this socially accepted protest. Students are protesting for stricter gun laws. However, looking on the internet you will see students holding signs such as, “NRA WE WILL OUT LIVE YOU,” “No More Silence End Gun Violence.” The young marchers has said they are not protesting a particular party, rather they are wanting both Republicans and Democrats to create and enforce laws on an issue they believe has been over-looked. A video of the rally
Not all students participated or believe this is a major issue that should be a focus in America. A North Carolina student was one of 700 students that walked out. The school says according to a person who handles their public relations, “We teach our students to be independent thinkers,” Janet Conner-Knox, who handles public relations for Wilson Preparatory Academy, told CNN. “[Blackman] is an independent thinker.” With this statement it’s plausible that this student opinion is less than a percent of the overall political standing in the school.
A school district in New Jersey decided to give out suspensions to students who participated in the rally. This was done in protection for the students according to a quote from a school’s superintendent. He states, “…Therefore, we believe that allowing and/or supporting them to walk out of our schools on a specific date and at a specific time is not safe and will cause a major disruption to the education of those students, as well as those who wish to remain in class learning” in a snippet taken from Breibart news.
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