Some Enfield Students Leave Building During National Walkout

ENFIELD, CT — An estimated 50 Enfield High School students left the building during a planned walkout Wednesday morning, part of a nationwide call for stricter gun laws and to honor victims of gun violence in schools and neighborhoods, particularly the 17 lives lost in a recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Plans called for the walkout to begin at 10 a.m. and last for 17 minutes, one minute for each victim of the Florida massacre.

Enfield school officials on Friday offered students a repercussion-free alternative to leaving the building, namely reporting to the auditorium for a program by student leaders, followed by conversation with town and school officials.

According to a student who went to the auditorium, the room was "nearly filled" with students who had left classes.

Around 10:10 a.m., a group of about 50 students left the building via the cafeteria/auditorium wing exit doors and congregated on the walkway just outside. A male student standing on a park bench declared, "We need more than thoughts and prayers - we need a difference."

Student Angela Litrenta posted a video she took of the walkout on a local Facebook page. She responded to a number of individuals who claimed the students were merely looking to get out of class by writing, "I didn't do it to get out of class or break the rules. I did it for my right as a student and for the victims of the school shootings."

The students remained outside, chanting "We want change," until the dismissal bell at 10:18, at which time they returned to the building via the front entrance.

Neither Principal Erin Clark not Superintendent of Schools Chris Drezek immediately returned messages from Patch, inquiring whether the students who exited the building did so with authorization, or if not, if they would be subject to possible disciplinary action.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen
Video credit: Enfield Patch via Facebook Live