Cedar students walk out to protest against gun violence
Friday at noon more than 100 Cedar Shoals students exited the school and gathered in Waters-Wilkins Stadium to participate in a national school walkout. Some students also gathered at the flagpole between the student parking lot and main academic building, holding protest signs and chanted “protect kids, not guns” and “no more silence, end gun violence.” Protesters also took turns in speaking to both the group and onlookers, sharing their thoughts on why the demonstrations are important as well as personal stories.
“Our plan was for the football field to be the place for the walkout so that it was in a secure and safe space. However, we had students who went to the flagpole. When that happens, that leads you to think that we’ve got students who are not really wanting to follow the school rules. Although they want to protest, they’re wanting to do it their way: opposed to the parameters that we have set up here at school. It just puts a damper on things, and it can give us pause for future events like this,” Principal Dr. Makeba Clark said.
A press release was sent out to Clarke County School District families notifying them of the walkout Thursday afternoon. According to the statement, students would be allowed to participate in the walkout from 12 p.m to 1 p.m. Most of the students who gathered at the stadium left around 12:30 p.m. for lunch, while a smaller group of students stayed at the flagpole for the full time. Clark emphasizes that student safety is a factor in deciding how the school handles events like walkouts.
“I would like for our students to be more organized and to do it in a way where it does not disrupt school. Come to me and say, ‘Hey, Dr. Clark, we would like to structure a walkout. Can we present a plan to you?’ But for us, it’s all about trying to keep students safe. I think sometimes the complaint, even last year, is that they felt that we were trying to control their walk out, and that’s not the case.”
Photos by Aislynn Chau, Julianna Robledo-Briseno, Sophie Meile and Lilly Cohen.
National group Students Demand Action planned the walkouts through social media following the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis that took place on Aug. 27. The date also marks a year and one day since the Apalachee High School in Winder, GA.
Senior Ky’Esha Gainer, who has lost some of her own loved ones to gun violence, believes it’s important for students to speak up.
“Today we walk out because enough is enough. Gun violence is not just numbers. It’s lives, families and futures being stolen. We’re standing here to show that our voices matter and that we deserve to feel safe in schools, in our communities, in our daily lives. Change doesn’t start with silence. It starts with us, and it starts today,” Gainer said.
The morning of the walkout, seniors Emma Van Cantfort and Carson Druppel created the Instagram account @cedarsocialjustice in hopes of spreading information about the walkout.
“We wanted to actually draw attention and turn what the school was trying to redirect this into something more controlled, into an actual student-led thing. So it wasn’t just skipping class or ‘you get this time to not be in class.’ It’s actually like a protest,” Druppel said.
They and Van Cantfort intend to form the account into a club for students who want to learn about ways to get involved.
“We want to at least show people how they can protest peacefully, how to form protests, and how to make a change by emailing your representatives or sending them letters or signing petitions,” Druppel said.
Clark supports students wanting to organize protests in collaboration with the school administration while encouraging students to educate themselves on what they’re protesting.
“For everything you protest against, you need to understand why, and you need to understand the change that you’re trying to make. What I see today is that there are a few who are really serious about protesting, whereas a lot of others just follow along. But if I am really leading a protest, then I’m going to take time to educate everybody that’s involved to understand the purpose and the change that we’re trying to make. I’m not going to do it just to be seen. I’m not going to do it just to get a crowd to follow me, but so that it has a true purpose. That’s how you get change,” Clark said.
The students who gathered at the flagpole were asked to leave at around 1 p.m. by front gate security guard Lasonja Hunt. Junior Alex Buckley hopes the Clarke County School District noticed the protest and will take action.
“I hope that enough schools walked out that it did cause some sort of ripple effect. It has been shown that in numbers, when students take action, it can have an effect, and I do hope that it has at least taken notice in communities and in states,” Buckley said.
Druppel thinks that even if the national protest has minimal impact across the country, it brought people together at Cedar.
“I really want to emphasize that this is not a religious or gender thing. This is us fighting against lawmakers and the government,” Druppel said. “I saw so many people I’ve never seen before join the protest just because they agreed with it, and I thought that was really awesome.”
Contributors: Kenia Gonzalez-Chavez, Gretta Garrett and Avery Lewis.
