Students in the Brandywine School District walked out of high schools Thursday morning to protest gun violence and remember the 21 people who were fatally shot last week at an elementary school in Texas.
The walkout is the latest instance in which students across the country are protesting gun violence.
“I’m hoping that will start to bring even more attention to it,” said Natalie Tobin, a 16-year-old Brandywine High School junior, before the walkout. “We need something to be done about it.”
Tobin said she had invited community leaders, including Delaware lawmakers, to the Brandywine High protest.
“I’m hoping those people, seeing how much we care about it, is going to help them realize they need to push for more action in our government,” she said.
Brandywine High students said they would walk around the high school’s track for 21 minutes in honor of the 19 children and two adults shot dead on May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Each minute, they planned to read the name of another victim, all of whom were killed by a man who officials said legally purchased two assault rifles and scores of ammunition last month for his 18th birthday.
Students across the nation have been staging walkouts at schools and college campuses since last week to protest gun violence and demand stricter gun controls.
Ahmadi, a junior at Essex High School in Vermont who serves on the national advisory board of Students Demand Action, decided a walkout was the only option: “Our lives are more important than schoolwork,” she told USA Today.
Ahmadi blasted out calls to action on social media and notified her school’s administration.
“This didn’t feel like a time to ask for permission,” she said.
That demonstration took place midmorning the day after the Texas massacre. It also became the first of a string of student walkouts across the country in response to the Uvalde shooting, according to USA Today.
The idea for the Brandywine School District’s walkout began at Mount Pleasant High School, but soon students at Brandywine and Concord high schools also wanted to participate.
“We decided to go along with this because it’s important to all of us,” said Tobin, who is the president of her class. “This matters to everyone in the school district.”
The student-led protests have the support of school administrators.
“The student leaders coordinated with their building leadership to plan meaningful events bringing attention to gun violence occurring across the country,” said Danielle Pro-Hudson, Brandywine School District spokeswoman.
This is a developing story. Check back with delawareonline.com for more information.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
