On Wednesday, March 14th, Plymouth State University’s Student Government will invite the Plymouth community to take part in The National School Walkout.

The National School Walkout is a response to the tragic Florida shooting, standing with the student activists of Stoneman Douglas High School. The Walkout will be held from 10:00am-10:17am on the Alumni Green in front of the Hartman Union Building. The event will last 17 minutes to honor the 17 people who lost their lives at the Parkland shooting, and will be led by the Student Senate, the officers of the Class Councils, and students Janet Currier and Shannon Spaulding.

The National School Walkout is a protest taking place in hundreds of locations, the purpose of which is to fight for stricter gun laws, so that families can trust the safety of their children in schools. PSU’s version of the Walkout will be kept non-political as to involve as many people as possible. “We understand that it is a political matter, but the more important stance that we take as a Student Government is that action needs to be taken,” Janet said. “We as students in the United States are demanding action from congress in order to keep students safe in schools, on the streets, and anywhere else.”

Students can voice themselves to congress for a change, or they can gather simply to show support for the Parkland victims. The PSU Walkout will be brief, with the intention to gather the community and share some thoughts.

“We will be reading off the names of the 17 victims, and we also hope to write a small speech for the beginning of the protest,” Janet said.

Many schools are participating to show their support. Despite the positive attention it has received, the protest has become a topic of controversy, and some schools vow not to support it. Plymouth State has decided to host the site of the event– our student and faculty are passionate about the topic and are proud to share concerns.

“The week after the Parkland shooting, we had an open discussion in Senate about how to respond to this tragic event,” Janet said. “We decided to support this peaceful protest so that it would be a safe event. We also want to show our support to Plymouth High School in showing that no one is too young or irrelevant to have a voice. Everyone deserves to be heard.”

Tyler Brown, PSUs Class President of 2019, will not be participating in the Walkout for personal reasons. He agrees that gun violence is a pressing issue and needs to end. “Gun violence is a very big problem that we all need to address in order to come up with a solution,” Tyler says.

The Plymouth Community is welcome to join together Wednesday the 14th to show support. Stop by to offer condolences to those who lost their lives at the Parkland shooting and survivors as well.