In a planned effort across the United States, students walked out of their classrooms at 10am today in unified protest of recent school shootings and in support of tighter gun laws that would potentially help to prevent further school tragedies.
The walkout occurs one month after the deadly shooting in Parkland Florida with 17 casualties. Here in New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are reported to have joined in at two schools (one in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan). According to Patch, Mayor Bill de Blasio has encouraged student participation in the walkouts, and Gov Andrew Cuomo can be seen below in solidarity with NYC students.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo joins students protesting for stricter gun laws in New York City as part of #NationalWalkoutDay. https://t.co/JuOWURifIL pic.twitter.com/4pcTTVA1zW
— ABC News (@ABC) March 14, 2018
The event's organizers, Empower (the youth division of the Women's March) claim nearly 3,000 walkouts are planned in schools around the country. In some local schools—such as one in Sayreville, New Jersey—students will reportedly face two days of suspension if they participate in the protest. The official event hashtag on Twitter can be followed at #ENOUGH (and more about the event can be found here).
Here is NYC Public School's official tweet about today's student walkout:
Participating in a walkout is an individual decision that we encourage families to discuss together. For anyone who participates in the #ENOUGH Walkout, it is important to do so in a safe and respectful manner. Here are some resources for NYC families: https://t.co/ZAtPJnOTqP pic.twitter.com/Kz39MgkUsG
— NYC Public Schools (@NYCSchools) March 8, 2018
See footage of Cardazo High School in Bayside during the walkout:
Cardozo High School in Bayside #Enough #NationalSchoolWalkout #Queens #walkout #NYC pic.twitter.com/BIab9ty0na
— Melinda Katz (@MelindaKatz) March 14, 2018
And footage of NYC's Dwight School as well:
#ENOUGH #NEVERAGAIN Today we joined the #NationalWalkoutDay @DwightSchool #NYC in memory of the 17 students who lost their life a month ago. #NOGUNS What the World Needs is #Love #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/4LJRCWbkNL
— Mlorain (@mlorain79) March 14, 2018
See even more photos and media below:
Spruce St School (NYC) has had #Enough #WalkoutWednesday pic.twitter.com/F7Xv5CsYv4
— Karin Goldmark (@KarinGoldmark) March 14, 2018
Calhoun students & faculty (NYC) stand silently in solidarity w/ @ForParkland #MSD #Enough @Emma4Change @StudentWalkout #UWS pic.twitter.com/Uv4dmoqtZi
— Calhoun School (@calhounschool) March 14, 2018
Pretty remarkable over a 1,000 students sitting down and in silence for 6 mins now. #NYC School #Walkout with LaGuardia High School #Parkland #fightingGunViolence pic.twitter.com/azmqPAfwtk
— Marta Dhanis (@MartaDhanis) March 14, 2018