Schools
Another Protest Planned At Lakewood High School
Students walked out on Feb. 21 to protest gun violence at high schools and pressure lawmakers into legislative action.
LAKEWOOD, OH — Students at Lakewood High School continue to be some of the most politically active groups in Northeast Ohio. After staging a walkout on Feb. 21, protesting for stricter gun laws in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 dead, students are now planning a second event for March 14.
What exactly will happen that day is unclear. A district spokesperson told Patch that there will not be another walkout. Instead, the high school will let students lead an assembly in the gym. There will also be a table set up in the cafeteria to register students who will be 18 by November.
However, a Twitter account allegedly connected to the student protesters announced on Thursday that there would be a walk-out. The account has yet to release additional details on what that may look like or entail.
Find out what's happening in Lakewoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Lots of great productive meetings these past few weeks. Im excited to say there will be a walkout March 14th! More details to come in the near future!
— Lakewood High School Walkout (@LHSwalkouts) March 8, 2018
The last protest walk-out saw students gather outside the high school with signs urging legislators to stop accepting "blood money" and to start enacting commonsense gun laws. However, seeing as how the protest was "unsanctioned" by school officials, students were marked as absent for leaving the building.
"I certainly recognize that we do not always get to control the agenda for when and where student activism is generated. We, however, have a moral responsibility to maintain order, safety and a respectful learning environment," a letter from Principal Keith Ahearn said at the time. He later told Patch that he planned on making March 14 a teachable moment with far more cooperation between student leaders and the school administration.
Find out what's happening in Lakewoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Walk-outs and protests won't just be happening on Lakewood on March 14. There are events planned at high schools throughout Northeast Ohio, including Solon, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights-University Heights, Westlake (in some form), and others.
There are also additional national walkouts planned for March 24 and April 20. It's unclear if Lakewood will participate in those walkouts, but it seems likely.
Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.