Lindenhurst Students Walk Out To Protest Gun Violence

LINDENHURST, NY - Over 30 Lindenhurst High School students were punished for participating in a the national walkout in honor of the victims of the Parkland, Florida tragedy on Wednesday.

According to a statement from district officials, the high school planned to have a moment of silence at 10 a.m., a brief reading on mindfullness, classroom discussions and a poster that students could sign in support of students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

In addition, a brief memorial was scheduled to be held in the school’s courtyard for interested students but due to the inclement weather on Tuesday, the school was not able to allow students to gather in the courtyard.

Instead, students were invited to exit their classrooms and "link arms in solidarity" in the hallway during the moment of silence before returning to the classroom to hold discussions for the remainder of the 17 minutes.

However, several students chose to walk out of the school building in protest.

The district stated that in a letter sent out to parents which detailed the school's plans for the day, that a walkout outside of the building was not permitted and any student who did would be punished in accordance with the district’s Code of Conduct.

"Any Lindenhurst High School students who chose to walkout of school this morning, did so peacefully and respectfully; however, they were in violation of the Code of Conduct," the district wrote in a statement. "The district must remain consistent – regardless of a student’s intent or cause – in enforcing the Code."

As a result, the students who walked out were allegedly suspended for 3 days, according to multiple reports on social media:

Lindenhurst High School cannot and will not silence us! we are the children of america and america’s future. WE WILL BE HEARD
— amybaby (@amystrashh) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/amystrashh... 14, 2018

@News12LI @ABC7NY Today myself and 35 other students at Lindenhurst High School were suspended for walking out. But we are not stopping here. Tonight, at 8 pm, we will be attending the Board of Education meeting. We're going to make a change. pic.twitter.com/Voq2u4DVR1
— gabrielle (@gabyanzalone) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/gabyanzalo... 14, 2018

@da12vid @ABC7NYNewsDesk Students at Lindenhurst high school were told not to leave the building and protest due to safety reasons. Our principal had a moment of silence and honored all students that were killed in the shooting. They were suspended for directly breaking the rules
— Cordell (@fontana_35) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/fontana_35... 14, 2018

SCHOOL-STUDENT VIOLATION ALERT:

NAME: Lindenhurst High School
LOCATION: Lindenhurst, NY
DESCRIPTION: Administration gave all students a three-day suspension for participating in #NationalWalkoutDay (@ACLU)
— The Anon Journal (@TheAnonJournal) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/TheAnonJou... 14, 2018

I can’t tell you how many times I left Lindenhurst High School without permission and never got disciplined. Kids come and go ALL day as they please. But they’re going to suspend kids who walked out in protest of gun violence for 3 days? That is just absurd.
— Patrick (@PatrickMaz107) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/PatrickMaz... 14, 2018

Today at the lindenhurst high school I am appalled and disgusted with the way things were handled with the walk out to support marjory stoneman douglas high school. Our staff had nothing better than to suspend every student who has used there 1st amendment right to protest.
— Sarah Radzicki (@sarahradzicki) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/sarahradzi... 14, 2018

While the district did not state what punishment the students originally received, officials claimed that after some evaluation, they gave students a lesser punishment for the walkout.

"Initially, it was determined that the students would each face the outlined consequence for disruption to the school day, as the walkout required the redeployment of security throughout the building and complicated the teachers’ abilities to manage classroom attendance ensuring student safety. However, this decision has been re-evaluated based on a series of factors including a review of the students’ records, the peaceful nature of their protest and the fact that the poor weather conditions required a last minute deviation from the outlined plan with limited time to effectively communicate those changes. As such, the administration has downgraded the disciplinary action to reflect a less severe offense," the district's statement read.

"While we respect the students’ desires to make their voices heard, our paramount priority is always student safety. Our Code of Conduct outlines the rules we believe will aid in our mission to keep students safe, and as such, they must be adhered to."

Photos: Twitter.com/@amystrashh