With the support of staff and faculty, students at Booker T. Washington High School walked out of class at 10 a.m. in downtown Dallas to participate in a nation-wide walkout, speaking out against gun violence and in support of efforts to reform gun laws. Students across North Texas and the country walked out of class all day on Friday, April 20, 2018 – the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado that left 13 dead.
Inversely, student organizers at Richardson ISD’s Lake Highlands High School faced cautious support from high school administrators and discouragement from the district to participate.
Students walked out of the high school’s front doors and crossed Church Road to Lake Highlands North Park at 3:20 p.m. to demonstrate off school grounds. Students were unable to participate in solidarity with other schools at 10 a.m. due to alternative efforts by the school district to keep students in seats and deter active participation on arguing gun reform outside of class during school hours, according to students demonstrating.
According to a news release from RISD, Friday morning marked the inaugural “I Know What To Do Day.” Across various campuses and grade levels, students were guided through three drills: lockout, lockdown and shelter-in-place.
“Each of those drills have already been conducted this year at our schools but we wanted to re-visit them with all students on the same day,” said RISD superintendent Dr. Jeannie Stone through the district’s press release.
Older students were also urged to write letters to their representatives instead of walking out, according to the Lake Highlands students.
Lake Highlands High School students were able to gain support and resources for their walkout from Indivisible Richardson and Texas House District 102 Democratic candidate Ana-Maria Ramos, which was coordinated by LHHS sophomore Priscilla Beltran. Photos by Brian Maschino
