March 14, 2018 - recognized as “National Walkout Day” across the United States. High schools all over the country have organized walkouts to commemorate the 17 lives lost in the Parkland Florida shooting a month prior. Among these schools that have walked out in an effort to bring awareness to this recurring issue over stricter gun regulations, one would find that there are some administrations that chose to silence the voices of their students - students who feel vehemently about this national problem.
Bloom Township District 206 is among the schools that have organized some event on this significant day; however, unlike other districts, Bloom High School prohibited the walking out of students during the school day. Announcements, warnings, security - these are some of the tactics used by school officials to ensure that students DO NOT walkout on what is nationally recognized as “National Walkout Day.” Principal Savage of Bloom Township High School made it quite apparent to the student-body that they will only be allowed to step outside of their classroom and lock arms to honor the lives lost to gun violence. While this act is definitely better than nothing at all, this student finds it contradictory that the aforementioned principal placed emphasis on the idea that we students have voices and that our voices matter all the while hindering us from using our voices in the manner in which we would have liked to.
Colleges across the country have made it known that they are more than accepting of their applicants leading student-protests; a large sum of high schools are just as accepting of these protests, and have even walked out alongside of their students to support them in their bringing awareness to the problem of gun violence on both the national level and local level. Why is it that District 206 has prohibited such acts?- the answer lies within both their lack of trust and lack of support within their students.
On March 14, 2018, Bloom High School held an event to honor the lives lost in the Parkland shooting. Contrary to what the local media presents, this event was led by the administration - whom of which prohibited the student-body from following through with their initial protest. Can a protest led by students not be peaceful? Do the administrators in District 206 have any trust in their students? These are some of the questions that should be asked on the regional level; on a grander scale, one should consider the following: on a day centered around issues of the second amendment, school officials have violated their students’ rights to freely speak and freely assemble - students who have hoped to bring awareness to gun violence in their communities, and gun violence in OUR country. Only left with what the District allowed on this day where student-led protests are both prevalent and relevant, students like myself are left to wonder, “When is it our turn for our voices to be heard?”
-A$D
