Students Across Douglas County Walkout To Protest Gun Violence

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Hundreds of Douglas County students participated in the National School Walkout memorial protests, which come a month to the day after a gunman shot and killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida, high school.

In Douglas County, students from the following schools announced, in advance, they were participating in the walkout:

• Chapel Hill High School
• Alexander High School
• Douglas County High School
• Stewart Middle School

The students left their classrooms for 17 minutes — one minute to remember each person murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — beginning at 10 a.m. in their local time zones for the National Student Walkout.

At Alexander High School, about 200 students walked out at 10 a.m.

Douglas County Schools Superintendent Trent North said in a statement Tuesday that students will face, "no consequences," if they "walk out for a reasonable amount of time and return in an orderly fashion."

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The students at Alexander walked out in front of the school, stood outside for about 17 minutes, talking and reflecting peacefully amongst each other. Some carried signs that read, "Gun Control, Pray for Florida;" "Gone but Not Forgotten;" "All Lives Matter, 17 Victims, Respect;" and "Student Lives Matter."

Mario Calcagno, a junior, was one of the organizers at Alexander and said he and his classmates were protesting the broken system of gun control in America.

"When 97 percent of the American people agree with a universal background check, and we still don't have that, the system is broken," he said. "We are calling for a ban on automatic weapons, a ban on bump stocks, waiting periods with gun purchases and universal background checks.

"We are standing up because we are sick of the massacres happening across the country," said Calcagno. "When politicians like Marco Rubio and Donald Trump take massive sums of money from special interest groups like the NRA, they do the bidding for them, instead of the American people. We are demanding that Congress acts in the best interest of the American people, not their donors."

"The safety of our students and staff will always be our first priority," North said on Tuesday, prior to the walkouts. "As a district, we endeavor to use the best resources available to make decisions to protect our students and our employees. Wednesday's walkouts will be well supervised and will occur in an orderly manner. We make these important decisions while striving to maintain a nurturing and supportive learning environment for each student."

The protests come 10 days before the March For Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C., and several cities, including Atlanta, on March 24. About 730 of those events are planned worldwide.

RELATED:

No Consequences For Student Walkout If Orderly, Timely: North
Douglas Students Plan Walkouts In Call For Stricter Gun Laws

Photos at Alexander High School by Patch Editor John Barker