Arvada Students Will Take Part In National School Walkout Day

ARVADA, CO -- Golden High School seniors Emmy Adams and Dominque Perri weren't even alive in 1999 when JeffCo's Columbine High School exploded in violence and terror. But Emmy heard about it from her mother, Susan Baldacci, a news producer for Channel 9. Baldacci rushed to cover the shooting at Columbine for a New Zealand news outfit, Emmy said, and couldn't believe what she saw.

"My mom was absolutely devastated. She saw people putting signs in the window begging for help. She saw dead bodies being pulled out onto the parking lot. She saw first-hand just how awful these massacres are," Emmy said.

When the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida took place a month ago, students around the country paid attention as social-media savvy Parkland students demanded changes in gun safety laws and school security.

The National School Walkout is the result: On Wednesday, March 14, students, staff, and supporters will walk out of their schools at precisely 10 a.m. for approximately 17 minutes in honor of the 17 people who were shot and killed at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida earlier this year. The walkouts also serve as a protest against gun violence.

"Jeffco Public Schools acknowledges some of our students, staff, and families may want to participate in walkout events in some capacity," a statement from the school district said. "We will respect the rights of our students, staff, and families – those who may want to participate and those who may not. Jeffco Public Schools is directing school leaders to communicate with their school community and discuss any plans. It is important everyone understands that student action will be respected, but safety and order must be maintained and the expectation is for the school day to proceed as usual."

Community members and media will not be allowed on school grounds during the day, Wednesday the district said.

The following JeffCo schools will participate in the walkout, according to the national website Women's March Youth EMPOWER.

• CHATFIELD-DAKOTA-COLUMBINE WALKOUT 10 - 10:17 a.m. In Front of Chatfield/Dakota/Columbine, 7227 S. Simms St., Littleton
• UTE MEADOWS SCHOOL WALKOUT Ute Meadows, 11050 W. Meadows Dr., Littleton
• GHS SCHOOL WALKOUT RALLY 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 14 North Area Athletic Complex, 19500 W. 64th Parkway, Arvada

• Lakewood High School, 9700 W. Eighth Ave., Lakewood 10-10:17 a.m.
• Jefferson County Open School, 7655 W. 10th Ave., Lakewood 10-10:30 a.m.
• Wheat Ridge High School,9505 W. 32nd Ave., Wheat Ridge 10-10:15 a.m.
• Arvada West High School, 11595 Allendale Drive, Arvada 10 a.m.
• Ralston Valley High School, 13355 W. 80th Ave., Arvada 10 a.m.

District-wide event at North Athletic Complex Arvada

Emmy and Dominque and their friends have planned something a little different for the entire Jefferson County school district. Instead of walking out during the school day, the JeffCo #NeverAgain Rally will take place at 6 p.m. at the district's North Area Athletic Complex 19500 W 64th Pkwy, Arvada.

Speakers will include Thomas Mauser, the father of a Columbine High School victim, State Senator Andy Kerr and other politicians and Colorado's America's got Talent Finalist singer Miguel Dakota.

The rally is meant to accomplish two things, Emmy said. "We want to unite our school district together in solidarity against school violence. We want to foster a culture in our community more accepting and inclusive so not only will it help prevent homicides and school violence, but help prevent suicides too."

The friends are trying to avoid the partisan division of politics, said Dominique.

"There's one thing that definitely doesn’t unify people and that’s politics," she said. "We want to make changes in a way that is unifying and not dividing."

"All of us agree, students and staff dying in schools is not a political thing," Emmy said. "If you’re red if you’re blue, we all have the same goal. This isn't a red issue or a blue issue."

The second goal of the rally is to bring forward solutions for keeping schools safe from violent massacres.

"We are open to any and all solutions to get there," Emmy said.

She said a minority of students and adults have been negative about the rally.

"I say, 'That’s your loss, we’re making history here, so if you don’t want to be a part of it that’s your loss, have fun teling your grandchildren you didn’t do anything.

"Jefferson County is the destrict where epidemic of school violence began," Emmy said. "But we want to be where it ends."

Check Whether Your School Is Officially Involved

To find out if your school is participating, plug in your zip code and check out the map on the Women's March website. https://www.actionnetwork.org/...
Another nationwide school walkout is scheduled for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. http://nationalschoolwalkout.u...

April 28 Youth March on Denver.

On March 24, "March for our Lives" rallies are scheduled nationwide for demonstrators to protest gun violence. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018...

Image Emmy Adams at Women's March in Denver, 2018 (Courtesy Emmy Adams)