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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Around the nation, students have been expressing their outrage, concerns, and fears surrounding the issues of gun violence and gun control. After 17 were killed and over a dozen more were injured in the shooting in Parkland, Florida, Wellesley High students joined together to say, “enough is enough.”
On Wednesday, March 14, students at Wellesley High School participated in a walkout, which lasted 17 minutes in honor of the 17 students and teachers killed in Parkland. At 10 a.m., the students gathered in the parking lot to engage in a moment of silence and listen to student speakers voice their opinions on gun violence in America.
The rally was scheduled in conjunction with the Women’s March #ENOUGH National School Walkout movement.
During February vacation, seniors Cort Breuer and Tteja Senthilnathan contacted Wellesley High School principal Jamie Chisum and Wellesley Public Schools superintendent David Lussier about wanting to organize a walkout.
Although faculty and administration were not involved in planning the walkout, they worked closely with the students to ensure that they would remain safe during the time they spent outside. Wellesley High’s administration also kept the Wellesley Police Department informed of the event.
“I brought it up because I didn't see anyone else working on it, and I felt that it was vital that we have a discussion on gun reform and speak up as people who feel the effects of these shootings,” Breuer commented.
“What often happens is that the narratives of shootings are cut short in the media because there is more news to cover, which ends the discussion on shootings until the next one. I wanted to keep that narrative going by holding the walkout because continuing to deal with the issue is the only way that we'll ever create change.”
Seniors Tara Snapper and Emma Frank also helped to organize the walkout and encouraged students to wear orange to symbolize gun control advocacy.
An impressive number of students joined in the march, and several made their viewpoints clear with handmade and printed signs, which said, “Fear has no place in ours schools” and “school safety is our safety.”
“We also often see student and youth voices ignored in politics, the media, and hot topics,” Breuer continued.
“[J]ust because we might be a month or a year shy of eighteen doesn't mean we can't hold vital opinions on society; we have to speak up if we care about our safety. This has gone on too long to wait for others to protect us.”
