As a part of National Walkout Day, local students hosted a forum and voter registration event as a part of a protest against school shootings.
Instead of heading to second period Wednesday, more than 200 Gig Harbor High School students walked outside onto the campus with homemade signs as a part of National Walkout Day.
In a somber, reflective moment, students stood together with signs that read “Books not bullets” and “Am I next?” for 17 minutes of silence — one minute for each victim of the Feb. 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Schools across the nation, including Pierce County, had students who chose to be a part of a walkout or protest for gun reform. Gig Harbor High School students and Peninsula High School students took it a step further, later hosting a public forum at the Harbor History Museum in downtown Gig Harbor.
After the 17 minutes of silence, a majority of the students headed back to class. The remainder chose to walk off campus and head down the street, holding signs and chanting. They walked to the museum, while being honked at and shouted too from passing cars.
The National Walkout Day events were mostly organized by students within local schools, with the help of national group, National Student Walkout. The idea to walkout of school as a protest for school security and gun reform came after Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students began protesting just days after the shooting in Florida left 16 students and one teacher dead.
Three students at Gig Harbor High School lead the charge on Wednesday: Griffin Bird, 18; Samantha Griffith, 17; and Alex Davidson, 17.
“It’s kind of time where we need to take action against what has been happening,” Griffith said. “Action happens for a couple weeks, then the news cycle turns over, and it’s gone. But there is a need for action and a need for students to be safe.”
Griffith collected pens, paper and created letter templates, along with a list of addresses and phone numbers for local representatives. She hopes students and local residents will use her resources to contact politicians and demand more action in Washington. Long-term, she said, the group hopes to work towards a nationwide ban against bump stocks, raise the minimum age to 21 to purchase a firearm, see a universal background check in place and close loopholes in legislation that makes it easy for children, teens and adults to purchase or possess assault weapons such as the AR-15.
“We want to not have military-grade weapons that are meant to cause harm in our society,” Griffith said. “Right now there are a lot of loopholes in the system where you can go to another state and buy a gun that does not require background checks, then bring it back to your state that might require (background checks).”
Griffin, who initially brought the idea of having a walkout on Wednesday to his peers at Gig Harbor High, said he was ecstatic to see the amount of support the protest gained in just a short amount of time.
“I think a student-led movement on this issue is more impactful,” Griffin said. “Because us students are the ones who are most impacted by these shootings we see in the media. We can vote in a few years, so it’s a call to legislatures to start solving these issues.”
Griffin said when he saw the news about the students at Stoneman Douglas, he wanted to throw up. School shootings have been on the rise during his entire four-year high school career, and he felt the need to start bringing the issue to the attention of adults and lawmakers in Washington.
“We deserve to feel safe,” Griffin said. “So many times we have walked into school and wondered if we would be shot this day. What would we do if this was us?”
Davidson, whose mother is a teacher at Discovery Elementary, said he is not just concerned for his peers at Gig Harbor High School but is concerned for his mother’s students as well.
“This is ever present in our community and our country right now,” Davidson said. “I worry about if I am going to get shot, if my friends are going to get shot or if the first-graders I volunteer for are going to get shot next door. Are we going to go to school not knowing if someone who was able to get a weapon is going to walk in and shoot us.”
Davidson said he thinks the school district and his teachers are doing the best they can to protect them, but they need more adults to hear what they have to say.
The Peninsula School District sent out a notice March 9 regarding the walkout and where the school stood on the issue.
“We feel it is important our students think critically and engage in the democratic process. Students collaborating and advocating for what they believe in is a powerful lesson in democracy. We want to ensure our students are safe and respectful, and that we honor their efforts to express their opinions. Students who choose not to participate in these activities should know that their decision is also respected and supported,” the letter said. “It is safer for students to remain at school, and we ask that all students remain on campus. We have asked staff members to remain with students on campus to supervise them and keep them safe. If a student chooses to leave campus, we can no longer be responsible for their safety nor can we force them to stay on campus. Students who return to class in a timely manner will not be marked tardy or absent. Students who choose to leave campus will be marked absent. As parents, you have the right to excuse these absences and we will certainly accept this notification.”
Superintendent Rob Manahan arrived at the Harbor History Museum late Wednesday morning to meet with his students who chose to walk out.
“I wanted to stop by and thank them for the way the students organized this,” Manahan said. “Whether we agree or disagree with their opinions, the way they organized this was respectful and safe.”
Manahan said the school district was not involved in facilitating the event, and he supports parents who choose to excuse their students for the protest. Lots of parents and residents in the area did not agree with the idea of students walking out of school to participate in a rally, but Manahan said there is a benefit for students who choose to exercise their rights.
“We have a history in America of peaceful protests and advocacy,” Manahan said. “That is a learning experience. We can replicate these things in our classroom but these kids chose to learn about it this way.”
The school district has been looking at ways to “harden” their schools against threats of violence in the wake of multiple mass shootings. Although he did not want to take away the light from the students, he said voters who can support the district’s proposed bond will be helping the district create a safer environment for students.
“I don’t want to make this about this, but we are running a bond in April,” Manahan said. “Both of our high schools have access points that are not covered or controlled.
