Mooresville High Students To Honor Parkland Shooting Victims

MOORESVILLE, NC — A wide variety of protest and memorials will be held across the country on Wednesday, March 14 to honor the 17 people who were gunned down in the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. At Mooresville High School, administrators are embracing the efforts of students seeking to pay their respects to the victims in a way that works with the school's operations.

Thousands of students are expected to take part in a walkout on Wednesday as an effort to advocate for stricter gun laws. The March 14 walkout, which will coincide with the National School Walkout day, is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at sites across the country, according to the main campaign website.

Other Charlotte area schools planning walkouts include Whitewater Middle School, Community House Middle School, Ardrey Kell High School, and more. You can find a full list of schools participating in the walkout by clicking here.

After the tragedy in Florida last month, students at Mooresville High approached their principal, Eric Schwarzenegger, about their desire to participate in the national event.

“They felt the urge to do something,” Schwarzenegger said. “They see this as obviously a national issue and also a personal one because they attend school everyday.”

Schwarzenegger organized a meeting for students interested in organizing an event, and 70 showed up, he told Mooresville Patch. The meeting produced a plan for students to walk out of class, head to the school’s gym and spend 17 minutes writing letters, to victims in Florida or elected officials so they can share their ideas on how to improve school safety.

This is an act of solidarity with students in Florida, and an act of civic engagement, Schwarzenegger said.

Unlike many other school walkouts, however, students will stay inside the building. Mooresville Graded School District is not allowing media access to the school to observe the event.

The walk out on the 14th is just one of several ideas MHS students came up with, he said. Other ideas include a voter registration drive at the school and selling T-shirts and bracelets to financially support student victims in Parkland.

“I remember being in high school when Columbine happened,” Schwarzenegger said. “A school is a place where I work everyday,” alongside school staff, he said. “In a way, we are all in this together.”

Patch Editor Kristal Dixon contributed

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