On Wednesday, March 14, Jonathan Alder students participated in a thread of national student walkouts, known as #Enough! National School Walkout, exactly one month after 17 lives were taken at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

    Students that chose to participate walked out of the high school’s doors at 10:00 AM and stood outside of the building for 17 minutes, one for each of the victims in the Parkland, Florida shooting.  

    The walkouts had a double meaning: while the walkouts were meant to honor the lives lost in Parkland and stand with Stoneman Douglas High School, they were also used as an opportunity to push Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike to adopt stricter gun laws.

    Participants of the national walkouts made it clear that they felt firearms should be banned altogether. They also strongly advocated for extensive background checks on those buying guns, if they had the ability to do so at all.

    Senior Ashley Holland, who chose to participate, wanted to show that she stands with the kids of Stoneman Douglas High School.

    “I hope the kids in Florida help people see that something should be done,” Holland said. “No one should be scared to go to school.”

    On the other hand, senior Nolan Larison was strongly against participating in the walkout, as he believes that guns are not the issue surrounding school shootings. He disagrees with those who are pushing to put stricter gun laws in place.

    “[Students] need to understand that that the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting, sport, or even self-defense,” Larison said. “It was solely added to the Constitution to protect all other rights that were laid out in all of the other Amendments.”

    Larison believes that education is key when discussing gun control of all aspects.

    Schools around the country also participated to a larger extent. For example, at Columbine High School, the site of one of the first mass school shootings, the students who chose to participate gathered at the school’s soccer field and released balloons to honor the Parkland victims. Meanwhile, other schools across the country chanted about banning guns and improving school safety.

    And while many schools assured students that they would not be punished for taking a stand and participating in the walkout, other schools reacted differently. For instance, students in the Needville Independent School District in Needville, Texas, faced three-day suspensions for exercising their right to protest.

    While demonstrating peacefully, Alder students made it known that they are ready for change.