17 Minutes for 17 Students

Cennedi Fry, Online Editor|March 15, 2018

Walkouts Around the Nation

On March 14, thousands of students nationwide walked out of classrooms to honor the 17 lives lost exactly one month ago and to demand changes in gun legislation from government.

Pittsburgh’s Creative and Performing Arts School (CAPA) along with 14 other schools in the area walked out of classrooms and buildings.

CAPA students linked arms with each other and formed a chain around the building to show solidarity for the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Canon McMillan Senior High School students used the walkout as a pro-safety event. Some students sported shirt that said #Enough that were sold for $10 with a portion of the money donated to The March For Our Lives on March 24 in Washington D.C.

Greensburg-Salem High School had about 400 students walk out of class and into the gymnasium. Students wrote letters to congress, signed petitions, and released 17 balloons to honor Marjory Stoneman Douglas students.

Avonworth, Brownsville, Freeport, Fox Chapel, Hampton, Northgate, Norwin, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Seton Hill University, Shaler, and West Shamokin all held some sort of event to honor the 17 lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Other schools around the nation formed themselves to to spell out #ENOUGH on football fields, made signs, and released balloons.

Greater Latrobe will offer the opportunity to honor the 17 lives.

On February 14, 2018, 17 lives were lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since the tragic event, school students across the nation have been walking out of classes for 17 minutes to honor the lives lost.

Greater Latrobe Senior High School students have been planning their own walkout. What started as a group chat with a few students has grown to a group chat of of 26 students. These students including Freshman Will Beddick and Junior Nina Sarp. They along with Samantha Fisher and several other members of the group have been working with school administration to get approval for a school wide walkout.

While the national school walkout is on March 14, the school walkout still doesn’t have a set date yet. It will be within the same week, just not on the 14. The group of students who have been planning this event want to make sure that the focus of the walkout is to honor the students of Stoneman Douglas not to make a political statement. Will Bedick said, “Anyone from the school faculty and student body who want take a stand and show support for the students and faculty at Stoneman Douglas can participate.”

“The walkout is nationally planned but we kind of want to make it our own,” said junior Nina Sarp.

Once plans are finalized, students and teacher will take 17 minutes and go down to the track and walk. Students who don’t wish to participate will sit in the bleachers.

The national event is planned for 10:00am across all timezones. There is a color scheme for the national walkouts which is orange, a color used in support of gun control.

An announcement will be made with the official time and date of the walkout in the coming days.