Hundreds Walkout At Haverford High School Wednesday

HAVERFORD, PA – Hundreds of Haverford High School students got up form their desks, headed out of the school, and walked around the track 17 times Wednesday, March 14 as part of the national walkout movement that is calling for an end to gun violence.

While the district called the event a unity rally, the message of the national movement is about bringing awareness to gun violence in the hopes that lawmakers will consider increased measures to end the violence.

About 700 students at the high school walked out at 10 a.m. to walk around the track 17 times: once for each life lost in the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida that occurred one month from the day.

After the laps, students held speeches and by about 10:45 a.m. they were back in class.

Officials said the event was organized solely by students, and organized very well.

While the high school event went smoothly, Haverford Middle School parent Hillary O'Neill told Patch her seventh grade child was allegedly physically blocked from walking out of his middle school class Wednesday.

District officials told Patch no walkouts were planned at the middle school and that the school dismissed early Wednesday. Middle school teachers did tell the students they did not have permission to walk out as the students were so young and that no walkout was organized for the middle school, according to the district.

O'Neill told Patch while the school denied students permission from walking out, students who walked out for 17 minutes and walked back in would not be suspended.

But a teacher blocked him from leaving his classroom, she claims. O'Neill's son told her he would have had to push past her to leave the classroom.

The district said some students did walk out without permission at the middle school.

District officials told Patch they were unaware of any students being blocked at the middle school but would investigate the claim.

Track was full at Haverford High this morning for #NationalStudentWalkout pic.twitter.com/pFIYRtbY73
— Lawrence A Feinberg (@lfeinberg) March 14, 2018

(Alex Wong/Getty Images)