SLE Students Join National School Walkout

SEELEY LAKE – "Safer Schools," "Am I Next" and "Never Again" were words chanted by students outside Seeley Lake Elementary during the National School Walkout March 14. Seeley Lake Elementary sixth grader Clara Kyrouac organized the only walkout in Seeley Lake. She along with 11 other students met at the flagpole at 10 a.m. where they held a moment of silence and then marched for the remaining 17 minutes in front of SLE. Her intent was to start the conversation about making schools safer and to mourn the lives lost in the Florida school shooting.

The National Walkout Day was part of the Never Again Movement. Students in Parkland, Fla. started the movement following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 14 students and three staff Feb. 14.

"#NeverAgain never again will this happen in Parkland. Never again will it happen anywhere. Never again. Join the movement. Be the movement," was tweeted on a newly formed Twitter Account @NeverAgainMSD on Feb. 16 as a way for students to channel their anger and frustration. Within a couple of days, the tweet had been liked by more than 22,000 people and more than 9,301 people were talking about it.

Women's March Youth Empower called for a National School Walkout to protest Congress' refusal to take action on the gun violence epidemic plaguing schools and neighborhoods. #ENOUGH National School Walkout March 14 at 10 a.m.

"Our elected officials must do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to this violence," read the Youth Empower's #ENOUGH toolkit at http://www.youthempower.com/toolkit.html. "Students and allies are organizing a National School Walkout to demand Congress pass legislation to keep us safe from gun violence at our schools, on our streets and in our homes and places of worship."

Youth Empower's website reported that students left classrooms empty in more than 3,135 schools across the country during the National School Walkout. Most demonstrations lasted 17 minutes – one for each victim killed in the February shooting one month prior.

"This is happening all over the US and also in other countries. If our president isn't going to stand up for that then that doesn't make me feel safe," said one SLE sixth grader during the Walkout. "There were 17 dead. That is just not cool. That is 17 families, 17 parents that don't have kids now because they lost them to that person who had an AR 15."

"There were 60 school shootings this year and that needs to stop," added another SLE sixth-grader.

"While it was a little bit about gun control, that was not the main point of it," said Kyrouac about the SLE Walkout. "I do support owning guns."

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Kyrouac started planning the Walkout at SLE at the beginning of March. She researched the #ENOUGH National School Walkout movement and how to plan it. She talked with her teacher and SLE Superintendent Chris Stout about her plan.

"This is the thing that everyone is doing and this is the way that everybody else is doing it and causing attention to it," said Kyrouac. "I figured if that is the way they are doing it that would probably be the best way."

Stout said Kyrouac came in with her mother telling him what she would like to do on March 14. He asked what kind of protest it was and got the details. When Kyrouac asked if she could hang signs in the school, Stout agreed as long as they get taken down and were not inappropriate.

"Clara was super respectful," said Stout.

Kyrouac said they haven't really talked about the school shootings in class.

"I think if people knew what was happening and what was happening around the country then maybe they could pay more attention to this and come up with solutions to make our school safer," she said. "I really don't have all the answers. The goal is to get other people on track and thinking how we could do that."

Stout said the school protocol for the National School Walkout was fourth through sixth grade students could walk out peacefully and meet by the flagpole. The students were expected to be respectful. People were in the lobby and law enforcement was notified and present.

"There would be no consequences if the students got up peacefully and left and were out there for the 17 minutes and returned to class," said Stout.

Stout said teachers expressed their concern because they want to support the students' creative process without getting intertwined in the political issues and appearing as though they were either supportive or not supportive of the underlying mission of the protest.

"A sixth grader having the energy, courage and motivation to stand up and do something like this is pretty cool," said Stout. "Am I going to say whether I agree or disagree with what they stand for? No."

Wednesday morning, March 14 Kyrouac put up posters at the school announcing the Walkout and providing more information about it. Fourth through eighth grade students were invited to walkout of class at 10 a.m. and meet at the flagpole in the front of the school. Kyrouac's fourth-grade sister Anara encouraged other students to participate and helped advertise for it as well.

Kyrouac made 17 signs with the names of each of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School victims. The saying "You have not died in vain" was written below the name.

Other signs read, "#Hear Us," "Enough is Enough!," "Never Again!," "Am I Next?" "Gun Reform Now" and "Ban Assault Weapons."

The 12 students met under the flagpole and had a moment of silence for those that were killed. Then they carried their signs and matched in front of the school for the remainder of the 17 minutes.

"I really want to raise awareness for this cause. I want people to know what is happening and try to get this into conversations," said Kyrouac. "I want all the schools to pay attention to school safety and there are these mass shootings happening and they could be maybe avoided or maybe there could be less deaths in them if they pay attention and make their schools more secure."

Stout expects the School board's safety committee will address the policy and procedures in case something like this happens again "to make sure everyone is safe." They meet April 3. Another National School Walkout is scheduled April 20.

"It was a learning experience for me. Do you allow a protest? Do you not allow it? Or do they just go do it regardless? If we don't allow it isn't that why they are suppose to protest?" said Stout. "In hindsight maybe we could have taken it and made it more of a school thing and left the firearm piece out of it. I don't think anyone would be upset if we took a moment of silence for the students who have been killed in the schools."