In Brick, Student Town Hall On Gun Concerns Instead Of A Walkout

BRICK, NJ — When students in schools across the country walk out on Wednesday to mark the one-month anniversary of the massacre at a Florida high school, Brick Township students will not be among them.

That does not mean Brick students will be silenced or that they won't have an opportunity commemmorate the lives lost in the Valentine's Day shooting, however.

In letters that went home to parents throughout the district last week, district officials said due to safety concerns, Brick students will not be participating in Wednesday's walkouts — many of which are planned for 10 a.m., with a 17-minute period of silence. Instead, the district has come up with other ways for the students to honor the memories of those killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and voice their concerns about gun violence and gun control.

A student town hall is scheduled for March 26, to allow students to address officials, to ask questions about school security and present petitions. Invited guests include state Sen. Richard Codey, Mayor John G. Ducey, members of the Township Council and Board of Education.

The town hall will include students from both Brick Memorial and Brick Township High Schools and will be videotaped and posted on the district's website, officials said. The town hall had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, but the impending snowstorm prompted officials to postpone it.

On Wednesday, Brick Township High School students will create a video documentary capturing the student-sponsored events conducted throughout both days. Both high schools will hold a moment of silence to recognize the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, officials said.

At the middle schools, there will be civics lessons on the rights of all Americans facilitated by the social studies teachers. In addition, students will have an opportunity to write letters thanking local first responders and/or expressing ideas for what students can do to make our schools safer, and all students will have the chance to sign a banner that will be hung in both middle schools "signifying our unity and commitment to safe schools," officials wrote.

Those activities were the result of meetings that included student leaders, staff, law enforcement, and central administration, officials said.

Calls for a nationwide student walkout to demand stricter gun laws began just days after the mass shootings that killed 14 students and three staff members and injured 16 other people. The calls for walkouts have met mixed responses from school administrators across the country. Some have threatened suspensions or even expulsions, while others have staunchly backed the students' walkouts.

Many more, however, are caught between trying to honor the students' voices and opinions while at the same time they are under relentless pressure from terrified parents to find ways to tighten up school security.

"As an administrative team at both Brick Memorial and Brick Township High Schools, we sympathize with the community in Parkland, Florida and all victims of tragic school violence," a letter signed by Brick Memorial Principal Richard Caldes and Brick Township Principal William Kleissler said. "The recent tragedies have increased awareness and prompted all of us to want to act, support those directly affected, and fiercely protect the safety of our own children."

"Our role as educators is to teach our students how to actively engage in civic conversations and the importance of participating respectfully and responsibly in a call to action to voice their concern," the letter said. "As a district, we do want to ensure that students are able to share their voice and learn from current events."

Letters from all schools urged parents to talk with their children about the events. "We recognize that you, the parent, should have the right to address this topic with your child at a time and in a way that you deem appropriate," the letters said.

Note: This article has been updated to reflect the change in the date of the town hall event. The postponement announcement was issued Monday afternoon as the winter storm forecast continued to call for snow on Tuesday morning.

An activist holds up a placard during a rally at the Florida State Capitol building to address gun control on Feb. 21 in Florida, days after a mass shooting at a Florida high school that killed 17 students and staff and injured 14 others. Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images