Facing punishment for their actions, a group of 17 Sacred Heart Academy students walked out of class to protest gun laws as a part of the National Walkout event, a month after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The demonstrators stood outside for 17 minutes, one minute representing one of the slain victims of the Parkland shooting. The protest was lead by senior Ayesha Mohan.
“We may be young, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a voice,” she said, “We have strength and we are unapologetic.”
The students ranged from grades 7-12.
Mohan said that if civil rights icons such as Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks didn’t do what they did, those issues in the past wouldn’t be resolved today.
“We wanted to spread our message in a non-disruptive, non-violent way,” sophomore Angeline Petras-Gourlay said.
According to students, those who walked out would get a Saturday detention, a $10 fine and would not be allowed to play in games if the student is an athlete.
The sports teams have been enjoying recent success this season. Both the boys and girls basketball teams are in the Class D regionals.
The protestors said this information was all sent through an e-mail to teachers. An announcement was made the morning of the walkout warning the students of the repercussions.
Some students showed support for the protest, but did not go in order to remain on their sports team. Students said that some teachers also showed support for their message.
“We aren’t afraid of having to pay $10 and spending a Saturday in our school,” Mohan said, “The message is too important.”
A student at the school confirmed that those who walked out were punished.
The students held up signs with the names of the 17 students who were killed at the Parkland shooting. There was also signs that called for gun law reform and criticized some responses to similar tragic events.
“We can’t just pray anything away,” junior Erikah Cudjoe said.
While the protestors were critical of the “thoughts and prayers” approach of the prayer service, they understood it’s purpose.
“People have their own ways of showing support,” Mohan said.
Sacred Heart had a prayer service meant to serve as a place holder for the walkout.
The community responded in different ways. Passing cars honked at the students in both approval and disagreement.
Community members supported the protest by holding up signs or lending jackets to those standing without one.
One man drove by and shouted “I love my guns,” honking as he drove off.
Sacred Heart Academy Principal Mary Kay Yonker could not be reached for comment.
