Students Walk Out to Honor Victims of Gun Violence

On March 14, thousands of students around the country, walked out of their classrooms in honor of Stoneman Douglas High School students who had been killed a month earlier in a brutal act of gun violence. In many locations across the country, students were joined by teachers and others to pay their respects to the victims.

At Armijo, students and faculty spent seventeen minutes in quiet remembrance for the seventeen lives lost at the school shooting. Tents were located around campus, outside the band room, center quad, and the Indian Outpost, where students were given the opportunity to sign posters in recognition of the victims.

“We didn’t do it to skip class,” said Kyle Paulino. “There’s a purpose to walking out. We all want change.”

Mr. Stoll, English teacher, tweeted, “I stepped outside of my classroom to stop teaching for 17 minutes today; I’ve never done that before. All the students, participating or not, seemed very respectful and understood the point. It’s time to stop gun violence.”

Students huddled together to speak about gun control in the United States. Other students stayed silent as an act of protest or remembrance. Each person on the walk out had a goal, and that was to see a positive difference for the community and country.

The fight didn’t stop after the 17 minutes were up. Those who want to participate more in this movement can “Walk Up,” which is the name of a related movement that encourages students to reach out with friendliness and compassion to their more solitary peers. By moving out of their comfort zones and helping their peers feel more welcome, the theory goes, students could potentially head off angry impulses or an outbreak of violence. Students can a difference, one person at a time.