Students Join #National School Walkout
Approximately 70 Rivers students joined today’s #National School Walkout, on the 19th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. After observing 13 minutes of silence—in memory of the 13 lives lost at Columbine—around the campus flagpole with members of the school community, the students marched to the Wellesley town green, where they gathered and displayed signs of protest for passing motorists and pedestrians to see. Many drivers slowed and honked their horns in support as the students waved from the sidewalk.
"The march was amazing," said participant Adebiyi Oyaronbi '21. "It really allowed me to feel like I had the power to change the world for the better. I was so happy when most of the Rivers community came out for the 13 minutes of silence because it showed that people do care. I hope we make this into a tradition to show that students have the power to make change happen."
This walkout was the second major student-driven walkout since the March 14 #Enough! National School Walkout which was followed by the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. and other major cities around the country. According to reports, more than 2500 schools participated in today’s march in order to keep the country focused on the issues of school shootings and gun violence.
This walkout was the second major student-driven walkout since the March 14 #Enough! National School Walkout which was followed by the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. and other major cities around the country. According to reports, more than 2500 schools participated in today’s march in order to keep the country focused on the issues of school shootings and gun violence.
Members of RICA (Rivers’ Integrated Cultural Awareness Club) and the Student Council met earlier in the week to discuss details of the walkout plan, and followed up with information for their classmates regarding the mission of the National School Walkout, the significance of wearing orange, and the details of today's walkout. Those who chose to march were given an excused absence from class, although they were required to make up any work they may have missed.
“I do think we accomplished our goal,” said Chrismary Gonzalez ’18, one of the organizers of the walkout. “We wanted to bring attention to this cause and we definitely did that. Whether people were happy or not, they saw what we were standing up for.”
In an email to parents yesterday, Head of School Ned Parsons explained, “As a school, we have worked with the students who have come forward to educate them and to engage in the dialogue around this issue. While we feel it important for them to understand the complexity of the debate and to hear the various sides of it as they come to understand their own views, we also want to be sure not to squelch their sense of responsibility and their eagerness to engage in the democratic process. For that reason, we are supporting the students who are choosing to join the walkout.”
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