Kansas City area students walking out of school and marching for stricter gun laws
On the three-week anniversary earlier this week of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla., hundreds of students at St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City walked out of school.
The all-girls Catholic school was one of the first schools in the Kansas City area to hold a walkout demonstration in support of stricter gun laws and the Florida teens who've set off a national discussion about the availability of semi-automatic weapons and school safety after 17 of their schoolmates and teachers were shot to death on Valentine's Day.
"We wanted to make a statement," said Liv Davison, a 17-year-old junior at St. Teresa's and one of the organizers of the walkout on Wednesday. "I was inspired by the leaders of the movement in Parkland making a statement saying we are not going to let this happen any more."
Poems were read and student speeches against gun violence were delivered at St. Teresa's. Two students read aloud the letter Mayor Sly James wrote to the students of Kansas City calling on them to take a public stand against gun violence and demand sensible gun laws.
The Parkland shooting launched a gun control movement among teens. "I think it has become a situation that we have come to a breaking point," Liv said. "We want it known that this can't happen again."
There will be three nationwide events over the next six weeks involving students.
Next week on March 14, students-turned-activists are planning to national walk-out day at their local schools in memory of the lives lost in Parkland.
Parkland students have planned a national march in Washington, D.C., called a "March for Our Lives," slated for around noon on March 24.
A third national recognition is planned for April 20, the 19-year anniversary of the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
The Washington Post reports that the National Park Service is expecting 500,000 people to attend the March 24 event. Also on that day cities from coast to coast, including Portland, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Dallas, Kansas City and hundreds of others, are holding "sister marches."
Like students at many other schools in the Kansas City area, St. Teresa students will be on spring break during the March 14 national walkout day. Many said they are going with parents or teachers to the Kansas City "March for Our Lives," set for noon at Frank A. Theis Park.
St. Teresa students are also going to write letters to lawmakers at the nation's capital. "I'm going to express how angry I am about this situation," Davison said. "I don't understand how our leaders can stand for semi-automatic weapons being allowed in just anybody's hands. I want to call them out on that and make them realize that it is not OK."
Students in the Kansas City, Kansas, school district also will be on break during the March 14 national walkout day but the district administration said it will work with students if they do wish to plan something.
"What we have said to our administrators is that our kids might plan something for another time," said David Smith, district spokesman. "We want to make sure we give them the opportunities to express themselves."
Smith said it is important for schools to set parameters for student safety and as long as students comply with those parameters, they are free to express themselves.
Students at Raytown high schools are planning a walkout at school on March 14. And elementary and middle schools there will hold assemblies that day about bullying. Students at all three of the Lee's Summit district high schools are also planning to walkout on that day.
Districts elsewhere around the metro area said their students are talking about joining the national recognition in some form but have not yet set solid plans for how they will do that.
But, for the most part, school administrators said school policies support student's rights to demonstrate., and students who abide by school policy will not be disciplined for walking out of school as a symbolic act of protest.
What do school policies regarding student demonstrations typically look like? Olathe school officials provided their policy regarding demonstrations when asked if plans were in the works for student-led events.
Olathe's policy reads: "Demonstrations on school property are a privilege and may be revoked at any time by the principal or superintendent. The principal of each school will establish rules for orderly demonstrations by students subject to the following conditions: that there is no disruption of the operation of any class or school function and that the demonstration is peaceful and does not violate any state or federal law, any city ordinance or school regulation. Any demonstration which is disruptive of a class(es) or school function or is about to become so, may be ended by the building principal."
But supporting student expression doesn't mean just looking for ways for students to rally or safely participate in a walk-out.
At Oak Park High School in the North Kansas City School District, students are participating in an open discussion about school safety with district officials and local law enforcement.
On Monday, students will host a panel discussion with local district, high school and law enforcement officials, and ask questions about school safety posed by their peers through a school survey.
Other schools in the North Kansas City district are discussing student-led programs related to school safety, district spokesman Susan Hiland said.
The district is also working on establishing safe designated areas for students to gather on April 20 if they choose to acknowledge the national walkout.
"The goal for April 20 is to give district students a venue to productively share in the national student movement in a way that also protects the educational value of the day and safeguards the safety and security of all," Hiland said.
This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Kansas City area students walking out of school and marching for stricter gun laws."