Hopewell Valley Central High School and Timberlane Middle School students will be joining their counterparts nationwide next week, as they plan to walk out of their classrooms to protest gun violence.
The nationwide protests will take place at the same time – at 10 a.m. on March 14. That is the one-month anniversary of the Florida high school shooting that killed 17 students and staff members. It will last for 17 minutes – one minute for each victim.
Students plan to assemble in the hallways and spaces around the Timberlane Middle School and Hopewell Valley Central High School campus for 17 minutes to peacefully honor those who were killed last month in Florida, said Superintendent of Schools Thomas Smith.
“These events are focused on students and staff, and we ask that parents and community members who wish to show their support assemble in locations other than school grounds,” Dr. Smith said. Students who wish to leave school grounds need a parent or guardian to sign them out prior to the event.
Dr. Smith said school district officials are proud of the students and their ability to organize and participate in peaceful protest. School district officials recognize the importance of the event to students, he said.
“I would like to assure you that students who participate in this peaceful protest will not be disciplined, and that building leaders will ensure students will not be forced to participate,” Dr. Smith said.
The Hopewell Township Police Department will be on site to provide an added level of safety, the superintendent said.
The March 14 nationwide event is being promoted by Women’s March Youth EMPOWER, according to actionnetwork.org. It is being organized by “a collective of teenage activists in cities across the country who work to organize our peers to take action on the issues that we marched for on Jan. 21, 2017,” the website said.
The Jan. 21, 2017 march took place in Washington, D.C. and other major cities to call attention to women’s rights, racial equality, gender equality, healthcare reform and reproductive issues, among others.
The goal of the March 14 walkout is “to protest Congress’ inaction to do no more than tweet ‘thoughts and prayers’ in response to gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods. We need action,” the website said.
“Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school. Parents have the right to send their kids to school in the morning and see them home alive at the end of the day,” the website said.
“Congress must take meaningful action to keep us safe, and pass federal gun reform legislation that addresses the public health crisis of gun violence. We want Congress to pay attention,” the website said.