Approximately 200 students gathered outside of the main entrance of HMHS to participate in a school walkout Wednesday, March 14 at 10 a.m.
On Feb. 14, shots rang out at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people fell victim to a mass shooting. The shots were heard across the country and inspired students of Haddonfield Memorial High School to take a stand.
The national movement was sparked by Women’s March Youth Empower, a group geared toward supporting young leaders in communities nationwide while identifying causes that matter. The organization that has inspired a plethora of students throughout the country and famously coined the hashtag #enough has made its way to Haddonfield.
One of the young leaders Women’s March Youth Empower has encouraged is HMHS freshman Alexa King, who organized and started the event at HMHS.
“I think it was really successful, I am so grateful to everyone who came to support us as well as the school,’’ King said.
Approximately 200 students gathered outside of the main entrance of HMHS to participate in a school walkout last Wednesday, March 14 at 10 a.m.
Students spilled outside the front entrance of the school, designating 17 minutes of silence to commemorate the lives lost at the Parkland shooting. King, who helped facilitate the walkout, wanted to take a stand and felt the best way to do it was through demonstration.
“I think it’s a really important cause that deserves a stronger response than just a moment of silence,” King said. “I wanted to reflect that.”
According to King, she helped promote the walkout mainly through social media platforms and registered the school through the national site in hopes to encourage students to join the cause. Instead of giving condolences, King wanted students to represent the lives lost at the Parkland shooting by participating in a planned walkout to protest gun violence and send a message to legislators.
“Children’s deaths have been brushed off with thoughts and prayers, and that cannot be allowed to stand any longer,” King added.
Junior Evie Jenson echoed King’s sediments. Standing in front of the crowd, Jenson read a poem, “Stained Red,” that she wrote after the 2016 nightclub shooting in Orlando that was published from a collection of poems she wrote titled “The Girl Who Bled Ink.” “Stained Red,” a passionate poem written as a letter to Congress, legislators and government officials, urges them to take a stand and vote for stricter gun control, in which she writes, “You advocate for our right to bear arms, but not our right to live.”
Jenson believes that by uniting, her generation is capable of evoking change in the world.
“I think this demonstration represents what our generation is capable of,” Jenson explained. “I think we can take the world and make it better, regardless of what people say we can or can’t do.’’
Another speaker at the walkout, Tracey Taylor, president and founder of the bipartisan group at HMHS Political Action Club, is heavily involved with political issues the country faces today. Gun control is an issue that hit close to home for Taylor. Her cousin, a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was one of the survivors.
Taylor’s main objectives, while helping facilitate the walk, included continuing to advocate for stricter gun control laws and background checks, explaining the shooter in the Las Vegas shootings passed two background checks. Taylor also hopes legislators will consider raising the age to buy a gun to 21 for all states.
“In America, you are at risk of being killed by a gun because there’s little to no gun legislation,’’ Taylor said.
Taylor also encourages people who may not be in tune with the political climate of today’s society to read the news on both sides and keep up with current events.
“As a person who can’t vote until 2020, I advise those who are of age to vote,” Taylor said. “Your vote counts.”
The students were not the only ones walking on March 14. Joining them, the Haddonfield Education Association also took a stand to support the students of HMHS by meeting at 7 a.m. on the day of the walkout at Kings Court. Co-president of the HEA, Stacey Brown-Downham, weighed in with her thoughts on the walkout, saying it provides the opportunity for political issues to be brought to light.
“It is chance to mourn for the lives lost in Parkland and around the country to gun violence and a call to action for legislators,” Brown-Downham said. “Students will be voters very soon.”
Brown-Downham explained the importance of modeling “engaged citizenship” with her students and thought it would be the best way to support their choice and demonstrate their values.
“Our board, our superintendent, our PTA and our education association members stood together today to show our commitment to the safety of our students,” Brown-Downham said.
Encouraging the students to stand by their beliefs, HMHS Principal Chuck Klaus also supported the students bonding together in a “peaceful fashion” and was thrilled to see the students exercising their First Amendment rights.
“I was proud to see our students make a stance for something they believe in,” Klaus said. “Our goal is always to have our students be able to think for themselves and stand by their beliefs.”
