Virtually the entire high school student body gathered in the outside memorial garden. Several students held homemade signs, many of them with the names and pictures of the Parkland shooting victims. Other students held signs expressing their solidarity with the victims and calling for peace.

Brian Fraga Herald News Staff Reporter @BfragaHN

WESTPORT - The gravity of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida didn't hit Delaney Wilkinson until she had to write the names of the 17 students and adults who were killed in the attack.

"Each of these people's were taken away in the blink of an eye. They were in a place where they felt was safe when their life was taken away," Wilkinson, a Westport High School senior, said during a student-organized walkout Friday afternoon.

Virtually the entire high school student body gathered in the outside memorial garden. Several students held homemade signs, many of them with the names and pictures of the Parkland shooting victims. Other students held signs expressing their solidarity with the victims and calling for peace.

"It doesn't matter how old you are. You can make a change in the world. We can't let adults tell us no," said Sydney Pacheco, 17, a Westport High junior who held a "We Stand With You Parkland" sign.

The walkout, which was conducted with the school administration's approval, came nearly two months to the day that a troubled 19-year-old man armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people, mostly teenagers, and wounding another 17 individuals.

In the weeks since, school security and gun safety have been much-discussed topics among school administrators and students. At Westport High, senior Briannah Lopes, 18, helped organize and is president of a new student group, Westport Safe and Sound, that focuses on school safety.

"Safety is a crucial thing in today's society that often gets overlooked," said Lopes, who focused her senior project on school safety. The topic may seem simple to some, but it's quite complicated and depends on several factors into consideration, from keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior and reporting it to adults, to ensuring that the administration's safety protocols are in place.

"This project opened my eyes to a lot," Lopes said.

Just after 8:40 a.m. Friday, Wilkinson, who organized the walkout with Melana Rodriguez, 16, a junior, used her smartphone to broadcast a bell-like sound 17 times over the school intercom; one ring for each Parkland victim. She then welcomed the student body to go outside for the walkout, which had a police presence and faculty and staff keeping an eye on the event.

Rodriguez said students had been talking about conducting their own walkout, but decided to involve the administration to make it safe for everyone involved. She said students were welcome to write anything on their signs. Some took the opportunity to post political messages, such as one sign that read "Arms Are for Hugging."

 

"If they want to make a political message, that's their right," Rodriguez said.

During the walkout, students also released balloons into the air as each Parkland victim's name was read aloud. The students observed a moment of silence and joined the school chorus in a rendition of, "Lean on Me."

Later asked what she hoped her fellow students would take away from the walkout, Wilkinson spoke of just how important school safety has become, and the impact that young people can have just by speaking out.

"It's important that we start advocating now," she said.

Email Brian Fraga at bfraga@heraldnews.com