WATCH: National Walkout Day At Ridgewood High School

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — One thousand students at the high school walked out of classes Wednesday in protest, in memory and with hope.

Students and teachers braved the cold and donned orange shirts with the hashtag #Enough on them. Several students spoke during the 17-minute protest about the need for something to change. The length of time is in memory of each victim of the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida earlier this year.

One girl said in three days she will turn 18. In three days she can vote, go to war and buy a gun in New Jersey. This should not be allowed to happen she said. (See Related: Florida Shooting Victim, 14, Lived In NJ, 'Loved, Well-Respected')

"We have seen many different atrocities happen. We were not alive for the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, but we were in elementary school during the Sandy Hook massacre, but what stood out to us was this Parkland massacre because it was a high school and because we are high school students just like the ones who were killed," said Patrick Denevlder, a 15-year-old freshman and one of the Ridgewood walkout's organizers. "That resonated with us. It's really after that attack that we took notice of what's going on and realized that something had to be done."

Patch was LIVE from Ridgewood High School. Watch here:

About 50 students held a 17-minute sit in at the campus center during the walkout to protect students' Second Amendment rights and to "approach the idea of change through a different lens," said senior Nick Jennings. "Basically, we just want to spread kindness. We feel that going out there and demanding change with gun control will not have an effect on anything. I think you should leave that to people in Washington, D.C. We need to do what we can where we can create a school environment where everybody feels like they fit in."

The walkout is one of hundreds that was held across the United States spearheaded by the Enough National School Walkout of the Women's March Youth EMPOWER nonprofit. Other walkouts were held in Glen Rock, Paramus, Fair Lawn, Wayne and at other North Jersey high schools.

"There have been threats made and every single time there is one, my friends and I think we are going to die," said Casey Bedwell-Coll, organizer of the Glen Rock High School walkout. "I think the chances of something actually happening are slim, but there's something in the back of your mind as it's happening that tells you it could be real."

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Photo: Students at Ridgewood High School participating in a participate in a protest against gun violence.