On Feb. 14, a former student, Nikolas Cruz, took over the hallways of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and unleashed a hail of gunfire, killing 17 students and faculty members. This tragic event has been marked as one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. As a result, the debate over gun control was brought back into the spotlight and the surviving students made it their goal to prevent this from ever happening again. To make this possible, they decided to bring awareness to the issue of gun control by organizing nationwide events such as the National Walkout which took place on March 14 and a march on Washington dubbed as the “March For Our Lives” which will take place on March 24.

On Wed., March 14, a few Gray Bees decided to take matters into their own hands and inspired other students to participate in the March 14 National Walkout. At exactly 10:00 a.m., the entire student body present moved outside to the lower field and stood in silence for 17 minutes in order to honor the 17 Florida victims. Throughout this interval, the names and ages of these 17 victims were read aloud.

A group of students moved to the center of the field and spoke, explaining why they were moved to participate and how the community can initiate change.

“ We are participating in the Walkout because this affects us one way or another,” said Freshmen Leader Jerry Miraval. “This shooting can happen anywhere across the country or even here at SBP. It could’ve been us, it could’ve been our friends, or it could’ve been our family members.”

A number of SBP students plan to attend a national march in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 24, to protest gun violence.