Shielding their eyes from the sun as they exited Gate 22, a small but determined group of Noblesville High School students walked out of the building at 12:00 pm on Friday, September 5. Students across the country participated in school walkouts protesting gun violence in schools at this same time, and these NHS students were part of the protest.
The nationwide action was spearheaded by Students Demand Action, an organization working to bring an end to gun violence in schools and communities across the country. Many student participants were informed of the event through social media. But students like sophomore Vinnie Worthington, one of the students who walked out of NHS, had their own motives for attending.
“We get a bomb threat or a shooting threat every single year. …It doesn’t matter how long ago [a school shooting] happened, it’s the fact that it did,” Worthington said.
Junior Emmalee Amos also attended the walkout, and believes that showing up in times of need is a crucial way to not only bring attention to an issue, but to take that energy and rally for change.
“It might show that if people actually stand up for things like this rather than just writing it down or not doing as much as they could about it, it could impact it toward a way of trying harder,” Amos said.
The effort demonstrated by students was recognized by school administrators. It was important to NHS principal Janae Mobley that students be able to participate in the demonstration if they wished.
“We don’t necessarily facilitate student walkouts, but we always make sure that
if students want to participate, they’re able to do it in a very safe way, especially during school hours. We don’t want to stifle student speech,” Mobley said.
With the assistance of school faculty members, students gathered on the practice football field behind the school. Administrators, such as assistant principal Jeff Harkin, created this plan when they were informed of the possibility of a student action by local authorities.
“We get communication through local law enforcement and some agencies that monitor social media across the country,” Harkin said.
Administrators said this communication helped the demonstration occur safely, and for students like sophomore Rachel Baum, it allowed them to participate in action that she believes can be a spark for something more.
“I feel like it will encourage more students to make bigger and better protests, but [also motivate] bigger schools and people with a passion for stopping gun violence [because they] can do more than we could,” Baum said. “This is kind of like the start.”
The beginning, Baum hopes, of a new way to think about issues like gun violence.
“This isn’t really political,” Baum said. “It’s just human morality.”
