Hundreds participate in CHS student walkout to end school gun violence
Tension was high in the air as the clock started to count down to 10 a.m. on Friday and Coppell High School students anxiously checked their watches and phones. Finally, it was time.
Not for the end of school day, or the school year. It was time to demonstrate against gun violence and honor the victims of school shootings.
On Feb. 14, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. students walked out of their school following the mass terror by shooter Nikolas Cruz.
It was Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to love, and it was ruined by hate.
Today, CHS students joined students across the nation who participated school walkouts, showing solidarity and remembrance, not just of Stoneman Douglas HS, but every school shooting that has occurred since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colo.
“I chose to come out to make a difference, and I know that most people think that ‘Oh, there’s a school walkout, I should skip class’, [but] I want to be here so I can be a part of bringing a change,” CHS sophomore Sanjonna Rudrarajuvenkata said.
The National School Walkout is an idea created by Ridgefield (Conn.)High School sophomore Lane Murdock, in order to honor the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting and honor the deaths of all school shootings.
More than 2,300 events nationwide were expected today for the National School Walkout. In addition to Coppell, Irving schools such as Jack. E. Singley Academy and Carrollton schools such as Creekview High School planned walkouts today as well.
Multiple students sported price tags on their clothes and backpacks to express politicians often put a price on students lives. Along with this, event coordinators handed out ‘I walked out today’ stickers, and multiple students carried signs.
Coppell High School students walk out with posters at the Coppell High School walkout today in the track. The walkout was attended by approximately 700 high school students in support of gun control and school safety.
Coppell High School sophomore Ady Chaudhari walks out with her poster at the Coppell High School walkout today in the track. The walkout was attended by approximately 700 high school students in support of gun control and school safety.
“‘I made this sign on a poster board that should have been used for my science project,’ and it basically says that we’re supposed to be learning, but we’re out here protesting something that should have been already fixed,” CHS freshman Kirthika Piratla said.
Sophomores Nico Reyes and Charlotte Vanyo are the organizers of the CHS walkout, which concluded at Buddy Echols Field.
“We were inspired by the speakers at [March for Our Lives] to take action to plan our walkout just like kids all over the country are doing,” Reyes said.
Despite multiple technical difficulties, the crowd cheered and the speakers, including Reyes, continued with their message.
While some students believed that the walkout was pointless, Vanyo thinks whether their voices were heard or not, multiple people are now more educated on the little-known aspects of gun violence and their purpose.
“A lot of people have learned stuff about gun violence that they didn’t know before and a lot of people have realized that what we’re going for isn’t completely banning guns,” Vanyo said. “It’s getting better background checks and we don’t want people to have serious guns like an AR-15, things like that,”
Knowing that multiple students would feel anxious about the consequences of the walkout, Reyes and Vanyo got the walkout approved by CHS Principal Dr. Nicole Jund and CISD Superintendent Brad Hunt, making the walkout consequence free, as long as students were back to class in time.
Several officers of the Coppell Police Department were there in order to ensure safety for the students walking, and teachers stood outside as well to make sure students got back to class on time.
While the walkout was focused on gun control, students on both sides of the gun debate attended the walkout.
“I chose to come to support my Second Amendment rights… I hope to see cooperation between the two sides [of the gun control debate] because without sitting down and talking it out, we’re causing more problems and fights,” CHS junior Gavin Parkespicer said.
Photos by Ale Ceniceros