A month after the Parkland, Florida school shooting, Chapel Hill High School students walked out of class March 14 to send letters to Congress and honor the 17 lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Students left class at 9:55, many carrying their letters to the courtyard where school administrators waited with boxes to take them to the post office.
Senior Nia Kurgat helped orchestrate the walkout, speaking about victim Alyssa Alhadeff and managing the walkout Instagram page.
“Helping with the walkout was important to me because it shouldn’t take the loss of anyone’s life to realize that an object created only to kill is not something we should have in our home,” she said. The people murdered in all of the school shootings these past several years shouldn’t die in vain. They deserve to at least have a legacy of laws change for the better, so that more people don’t share their fate.”
Many who gathered wore orange t-shirts that read #enough, over an outline of North Carolina. The back of the t-shirt listed sponsors, gathered by juniors Kai White and Caitlin Grubbs, including local businesses and citizens. Sponsors donated money to show support for the walkout and to provide money for t-shirt production. In total, 4,300 t-shirts were given to district students.
Al’s Burger Shack, owned by Al and Melody Bowers, was one of the many sponsors of the walkout.
“Our daughter is a sophomore at Carrboro High School. We send her to school every day, expecting that she will be safe and come home for dinner. We believe that ‘enough is enough’ and hope that y’all, this country’s future, take back our nation,” the Bowerses said of their reason for sponsoring.
Senior Lauren Griesedieck was one of the many Chapel Hill High School students who helped lead the walkout across the district, bringing together the ideas from student government, the Chapel Hill High School walkout group and gun safety organizations, such as Chapel Hill Carrboro Enough.
“I think it’s important for high school students to use their voices, especially on a national day like the walkout, where we get to join high school students about the nation,” she said.
Junior Jason Dadolf found the walkout to be an impactful demonstration and was grateful for all the work that went in to it.
“The walkout was a great way for people who would otherwise not participate in an event, such as a walkout, to show their support for the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting. I thought it was very powerful and inspirational to see that many students at our school take a stand against the injustices of our federal administration,” he said.
However, Dadolf thought the organization of the event could have gone better. “Many people who were closer to the school building were completely unaware of the moment of silence […] because they were either not informed or could not hear the announcements coming from the speakers,” he said.
Principal Sulura Jackson made an announcement shortly after the walkout.
“Thank you to the organizers and the participants in this morning’s walkout for conducting a very peaceful protest in solidarity with high schools around the country,” she said. “Our Tigers sent up a mighty roar today, and I am proud of you and wanted you to know that. To all the students that participated: you did a great job, and I am proud of you and think you should know that.”
Those who chose not to participate in the walkout went to the media center during the event.
Participants were urged to post to social media during the event, using hashtags #enough and #CHCwalkout.
