Students from school districts across the country spent 17 minutes leaving their classrooms to protest gun violence and remember the 17 lives lost in the Parkland, Fla. shooting a month ago. At Carroll High School, more than 80 teenagers participated in the National School Walkout. In the interest of safety, administrators asked them to gather in the auditorium rather than going outside and had School Resource Officer, Sgt. Gary Bellinghausen, and Coordinator of Student Support Services, Larry Lesle, on hand to facilitate discussion. Sophmore, Bennett Sievers, was one of the first to weigh in on the issue.
Another student, Monica Hall, believes these acts of violence stem from bullying, and the school should be doing more to reduce that type of behavior.
Several demonstrators expressed concerns about not knowing what to do if an active shooter situation arises. Sgt. Bellinghausen says administrators and law enforcement are working together on a method to include them in training exercises.
As the walkout ended, Principal, Tammie McKenzie, had a message for the individuals who participated.
Several students from Kuemper, Ar-We-Va, IKM-Manning and East Sac County also participated in the walkout. At South Central Calhoun, the school observed 17 seconds of silence at 10 a.m. in remembrance of the Parkland victims.
