Long Island Students Planning Gun Protest Walkout Next Week

Students from more than two dozen Long Island middle schools, high schools and colleges are planning to walk out of class next week, joining in solidarity with students across the country who are protesting gun violence and Congress's inaction on passing gun control legislation.

The plan is for students across the country to walk out of class at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14 and stay out of class for 17 minutes to honor the 17 people killed in Parkland, Florida last month.

The ENOUGH walkouts across the country are being sponsored by the Women's March organization, but each walkout is being organised as a grass-roots effort at the school level. So far, more than 2,200 walkouts are planned for March 14.

Carson Termotto, a 16-year-old from Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, says he already has nearly 200 people who have committed to attending the walkout he's organizing, and expects many more to join in.

"After the shooting in Parkland, I think we all felt some type of change needed to happen," Termotto said. "We see shooting after shooting after shooting. And all we see are thoughts and prayers, and no real action or change. And that's why I decided to organize this: for action and change."

Termotto said that his group is planning a moment of silence and a musical piece to remember the 17 victims from Parkland, and then plans on having a series of speakers. The school and district administration has been supportive of the walkout, Termotto said, although the administration wants it to focus more on ending gun violence instead of supporting gun reform measures, in an effort to keep the walkout non-partisan.

"This is a student-led event," Termotto said. "And it doesn't need to be coordinated at all with the administration."

Madison Gusler, who is organizing a walkout at Long Beach High School, said she heard other students at her school talking about it, but no one seemed to have any details. She went online and found that her school hadn't signed up to participate, so she took the initiative to run the event.

"I believe that parents should not have to worry about their child’s safety while they’re at school," Gusler said. "I’m not protesting just for my safety, but for the safety of my younger sister at the middle school and my mom working at East School. Not a single child should have to come home from school and hear their parent or sibling was hurt at work or school, and not a single parent should have to hear their child was put in serious danger in the middle of math or any other class. There needs to be more action taken to protect our schools, and this is how we’re ensuring our voices are heard."

There are currently 26 Long Island schools officially participating in the walkout, but there could be more that haven't signed up on the Women's March website to make it official. Here are the Long Island schools participating so far:

• Massapequa High School
• Sanford H. Calhoun High School
• Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
• Jericho High School
• Half Hollow HIlls High School
• Long Beach High School
• Huntington High School
• South Side High School
• Roslyn High School
• Herricks High School
• North Shore Middle School
• North Shore High School
• Hewlett High School
• Brentwood High School
• Valley Stream Central High School
• Northport High School
• Floral Park High School
• Locust Valley High School
• Commack High School
• Great Neck South
• Suffolk County Community College
• Newfield High School, Selden
• St. Joseph’s College, Patchogue
• Ward Melville High School, Setauket
• Miller Place High School
• Hayground School
• East Hampton High School

The walkout next week is in addition to the March for Our Lives events planned for March 24. It's separate from the walks planned for April.

The walkout website says that it is fighting to get gun control measures passed, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, raising the age to buy certain weapons to 21 and increasing background checks to keep guns away from dangerous people.

"This event is pushing for the future," Termotto said. "Not just thoughts and prayers, but action and change."

What do you think of the students' plans to walk out of class? Sound off in the comments below.

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images News/Getty Images