School Walkout Pros & Cons

Tomorrow, March 14, 2018, marks the date of the first ever National School Walkout organized by The Women’s March. Though I will not be able to participate because of the way Licking Valley intends to impose consequences that would effect my extra curricular participation, I don’t believe there are no pros to participating.

PROS

As high school students we often find ourselves wanting to make a change, to be a part of something bigger. For some, this walkout may be their way of doing that. Most underage people do not have a lot of control over their lives when it comes to social and political matters and this is just one way to get involved and make their voice known.

Another pro is that this event will grab the attention of the media and possibly drum up enough motivation to get the ball rolling in Congress on this topic that some feel so passionate about.

CONS

One con is that, of course, actions do have consequences. For Licking Valley High School students those consequences consist of automatic Saturday school - the reasoning: “out of assigned area.”

Also, there are the people who will follow the masses blindly and do it just because it is a way to get out of class or just to be funny. Many people don’t fully understand the purpose of the school walkout.

The National School Walkout is designed to create awareness for gun violence and mass shooting. The 17 minutes represent the 17 individuals shot and killed in the Parkland shooting. This walkout is meant to be a form of peaceful protest.

We must remember however that many forms of peaceful protests are considered civil disobedience and for this there must be consequences. We must also remember though, that nothing ever changed while everyone stood idly by. Many people have committed acts of civil disobedience and took their consequences in order to make a difference.

We must each decide personally if we want to be the one to follow in the footsteps of our predecessors, take other steps toward change, or if we want to stand idly by.

Other ways to participate include the March For Our Lives which will take place on Saturday, March 24 at 10am in both Columbus and Newark, writing letters to our local, state and national representatives or speaking out on social media platforms and requesting reform.