Plans For Walkout At East Brunswick High Delayed

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Hundreds of high school students in Middletown, NJ walked out of class Wednesday. As did 200 students at Raritan High School in Hazlet, and dozens more at a high school in Manahawkin (pictured above).

But not East Brunswick. A walkout planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday was curtailed by the administration, East Brunswick superintendent Dr. Victor Valeski told Patch. But the decision to halt the walkout was agreed upon by student leaders, he also said.

"We had heard that the students wanted to do a walkout at 10 a.m. Wednesday," Dr. Valeski said. "We gathered the student leaders and asked what the purpose of the walkout was. The answers were very varied and not really unified."

The agenda of the walkouts has indeed been varied: Some Hazlet teens said Wednesday they were simply doing it to remember the 17 people killed. Other students have been more political, directly calling for stricter gun laws.

"We told the student leaders it would be more effective to wait until March 14 and do the walkout then, because that's a national day of action," said Valeski. "We told them staff would help them organize the walkout that day. And the student leaders agreed that was a good idea."

However, some East Brunswick parents said they are upset with Valeski's actions.

"I'm disappointed. A school-staged event three or four weeks after the tragedy occurred sort of defeats the purpose and impact of this student-driven movement," said Jon Dressner, a parent of two children at East Brunswick High School. "The Florida students spoke truth to power last night on CNN. Our kids should have done the same yesterday in their own local way."

Dressner has feuded with Valeski in the past, over the handling of swastikas and anti-Semitic writing scratched into a desk at Churchill Junior High School last year.

Momentum is growing for March 14, one month after the Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Students at schools across the country plan to walk out of class for 17 minutes that day.

Nonetheless, a handful of students did walk out of class Wednesday at East Brunswick High. NBC 10 reported students were told they could be suspended if they protested outside. But Valeski said he instructed administrators not to discipline those students who chose to walk out.

"God love 'em" said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy when asked if he supported students walking out.

East Brunswick is one of the first school districts in the nation to have armed, uniformed police officers patrolling all of its buildings. The decision was made last Thursday, Feb. 15, a day after the shooting, by the East Brunswick Board of Education. Dr. Valeski said he's gotten some complaints from parents, but most people in East Brunswick seem happy with the decision.

Ongoing Patch reporting: East Brunswick Schools To Add Armed Cops To Security Protocol

200 Students Walk Out At Middletown South After Florida Shooting

200 Hazlet Students Walk Out After Florida Shooting

Stafford Police Praise Students For Peaceful Protest At Southern

Top photo of a student walkout Wednesday at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, NJ provided by Stafford Twp. police.