Will the adults in the room please stand up?
In the past week following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Florida, kids all over the United States and Canada have been doing a lot more leading than most of our leaders have done in years.
Students have given birth to the #neveragain movement and raised money for anti-violence advocacy. They poured into D.C. and Tallahassee, meeting with legislators to urge them to take steps — gun control is just one part — to change this new normal. They organized public school walkouts in honor of the Parkland massacre as a demonstration to the victims’ families, survivors and the rest of the country that we are being directly impacted by this epidemic and that we are demanding justice and action.
Because it didn’t just happen to them, it happened to all of us.
In Broward alone, almost every school participated and sentimentally strode down their streets all the way to Stoneman Douglas, as a tribute to all the students.
With much hesitation from some kids afraid of strict school administration, hundreds at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Miami-Dade courageously stood up against terrorism and gun violence and protested for change in legislation; something our politicians have been slacking on for almost 20 years.
Orange traffic cones and lingering security heavily guard the door everyone slips out of earlier that day.
The protest may have gotten a bit out of control, but so have our guns.
The original plan was peaceful: hands strike noon and participants march out of school into the front, where we would calmly protest until administrators or authorities told us otherwise. Then, we’d calmly walk back in.
But teens can be impulsive and dishonest and make irrational decisions. Even more so when they are emotional. The principal and her staff could foresee students skipping or tossing slushies (yes, that really happened and no, this is not an episode of Glee) and they limited our protest to school grounds.
That basically defeated the purpose but whatever.
The group collected at the school’s lunch pavilion, where approximately 300 students eat lunch, and began chanting phrases like “We call BS!” and “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!” Slowly, more kids from all over the school who had left their classes began pouring into the pavilion with protest posters – some made in class ten minutes before with ballpoint pens and lined paper – chanting along with us.
It was incredibly successful and almost the entire school protested.
Eventually, some students grew exhausted from standing in one place. The whole reason for the protest was because we don’t feel safe anywhere on school grounds.
So we started migrating.
First, to the gate on the east side of Palmetto where a lock and the administration was waiting for us to tell us the bell had rung for 5th period commencement.
Did we care? Of course not.
Posters dancing to the beat of their voices as students protest at Mast Academy in Key Biscayne, Florida
Just kidding, we did a little. We actually thought about it (with a short pause of thought after our disciplinary director had demanded our asses back in class), but our voices continued to roar for a cause we believed was worth wasting a day or two in indoor suspension. We were quickly vindicated, too. Parents and adults driving by pulled over their cars and began recording and shouting along while some security guards championed with us.
But there was no way to bust that gate open. And there was no way the administration would allow it.
However, the student to AP ratio was drastic and because most of the student body was on one side of the school, so were our administrators. When they sent us back to class, a few students saw an unlocked and unguarded gate and followed through with the original protest – a little extra, this time.
Protesters swinging their arms and straining their voices — photo courtesy of Brianne Guanaga, student photographer for The Panther newspaper.
By a few – I mean 30, 40, 50 kids – continuing their stride outside of school, only instead of staying on campus, they shouted down US1 and all the way to the nearest protest at Coral Reef Senior High (almost four and a half miles away).
Unfortunately, once I got to the gate, security was hammering students to back away and forcing them to return to class. But one senior, Grace Torre, made it down several blocks with the group before she got caught by police. “They tried to block the streets, redirecting us and told us to stop several times with megaphones but we just kept marching past them.” About half of the group was eventually corralled and “held hostage” in the cafeteria where they took down their ID numbers, although I’m unsure if they’re pursuing consequences.
Another senior, Aylah Dade, said “I’ve never walked or ran so much in my life but I’m proud to have been a part of that.” She also said once they made it to the other protest, our administration was extremely impressed, supportive, and proud too, even agreeing to allow us to do it again as long as its more organized. Not to mention, police were cheering them on down the street as they drove alongside them, keeping them safe and blasting “All Star” by Smash Mouth through their stereos.
Students flood the courtyards at Coral Reef, for their walkout/silent sit-in
MAST Academy in Key Biscayne, Florida stands together in honor of Parkland
Palmetto wasn’t the only school in Miami-Dade County that participated. There were protests everywhere – from Mast Academy to New World to Gables to Coral Reef – with crowds just as big, if not bigger.
And that’s only in South Florida. From students who have been affected by gun violence to students who truly believe in the cause to students who barely know anything about it, only that they’re fighting for their lives.
A lot of kids didn’t think a walkout would even make a difference. Of course, we have to elect the right representatives and write letters to Congress (hehe), but the literal act of walking out of school sends a message to educators, legislators and terrorists. We’re in charge now and we call BS!!!
At the White House “listening session” with President Donald Trump, Meadow Pollack’s father made a clear point on how we’ve never had an attack like 9/11 since — but we can’t do anything about mass shootings?
We’re literally protesting for our lives here. And we’re kids.
We’re just trying to go to school, man.
