Montclair Students Hold School Walkout On Gun Violence (VIDEOS)

MONTCLAIR, NJ — They walked out of their classes on Wednesday morning in Montclair, joining thousands of their peers across the nation in a protest against gun violence.

On March 14, students at Montclair High School participated in the national #ENOUGH rallies, which were timed for March 14 to coincide with the one-month anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The walkouts each were slated to last 17 minutes, one for each life taken during the tragedy. (Learn more about the protest here)

Student organizers in Montclair said that the walkout at Montclair High School was a way to “show their support for the Parkland students and for Common Sense Gun Legislation.”

Blythe Raine Bharamipour, senior class president, said that the administration told class officers students will not be penalized for attending, Montclair Local reported.

“It’s student activism, led by students,” MHS senior Corinna Davis told a reporter. “We don’t need teachers involved.”

Davis recounted the work it took to put the rally together in a blog on Grok Nation:

"When I took on organizing my high school’s walkout with fellow senior Blythe Bahramipour, neither of us anticipated how much work it would be. Blythe worked tirelessly talking to our school’s administration, while I handled the press. We worked constantly on spreading information about the walkout to our classmates because of our school’s decision to not sponsor the event. Facing threats of lawsuits from local parents against the walkout’s message, the administration decided it would be best to not support the walkout in any way besides security. Some nights it felt hopeless. There was so much to do and so little time to get it done. Last night, as I frantically gave statements to the press and drafted speeches for today’s rally, I felt a weight pressing down on my chest and cutting off my breath. What if no one showed up? What if the speeches were too long and the school penalized us for going overtime? What if everyone wouldn’t stop talking and no one could even hear the speakers? This morning, as I rushed around putting the finishing touches on a memorial, checking in with local journalists, and making sure all the speakers were prepared to go on, I felt utterly numb. And then at 10 a.m., the walkout happened."

Montclair wasn’t the only local school district to see student-led walkouts on Wednesday.

In Essex County, student walkouts took place in towns including West Orange, Montclair, South Orange-Maplewood, Bloomfield, Nutley, Verona, Livingston, Millburn and Newark.

• See related article: School Walkouts In Essex County: Students Against Guns (WATCH)

Here’s what drove the national walkouts, according to organizers:

“We are living in an age where young people like us do not feel safe in our schools. This issue is personal for all of us, especially for those of us who are survivors of gun violence. We are walking out for ALL people who have experienced gun violence, including systemic forms of gun violence that disproportionately impact teens in black and brown communities. It is important that when we refer to gun violence, we do not overlook the impact of police brutality and militarized policing, or see police in schools as a solution. We also recognize the United States has exported gun violence through imperialist foreign policy to destabilize other nations. We raise our voices for action against all these forms of gun violence.”

While many districts have chosen to condone or embrace the protests, some, such as the Sayreville School District, have threatened to suspend participating students.

According to the ACLU of New Jersey, school officials are not allowed to prohibit or censor speech or press activities based on their content, unless it falls within one of two exceptions:

• “It is foreseeable that the speech will cause substantial disruption to the operation of the school”
• “It is too lewd or vulgar for the school audience”

Many parents and community members offered support for the student-led protest online. However, some 2nd Amendment advocates have argued against the students’ main assertion: more gun control laws will help to stop school shootings.

"Unfortunately, [Parkland] will not be the last mass shooting in America, in a school or any other soft target, and no new gun laws will prevent anyone with enough hate in their heart from committing such a crime," the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) stated last month.

“We can certainly do better to improve the existing systems in place and properly enforce gun regulations already on the books,” the group stated.

• See related article: NJ Gun Advocates Say More Laws Won't Stop School Shootings

Are you for or against the student walkouts on March 14? Let us know why. Send a letter to the editor with your full name and town of residence to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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