GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Thousands of students across the nation stood together in solidarity for National Walkout Day to bring awareness to gun violence.
March 14 was chosen because it's exactly a month to the day of the Parkland, Fla. shooting (Feb. 14) that ended the lives of 17 people at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, charged in the case.
Schools in the Piedmont Triad area participated with both students and educators coming together to show their support.
We spoke to twelve students at five different area schools about the walkout, gun violence, and taking action.
We let them speak and share their feelings about wanting a change.
Each school held different walkouts. Students at Northwest Guilford held a moment of silence, then came up with 17 different ways they can help others.
Students at the STEM Early College walked to the Greensboro Four monument on North Carolina A&T State University's campus. Students also had on the color orange to represent gun violence awareness.
Students at Salem Academy read the names of the 17 students who were killed in the Florida High School shooting while holding up signs.
Lillian Giles is an 11th grader at the school and expressed her desire to have her classmates participate in the walkout to her ‘GirlUp’ and World History teacher, Michelle Hopkins-Lawrence.
“I should’ve realized it before February 14 when the Parkland shooting happened, but I think when I saw my peers in other places starting to work and catalyze this movement I wanted to get involved because enough is enough!” Giles said.
Salem Academy is one of the smaller schools in Winston-Salem outside of the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School system, but the students wanted to be part of this large movement nonetheless.
“We may not be the largest, but we are the oldest,” Mary Lorick Thompson, Head of the School, said. “Before the revolutionary war, this school was here educating women and that’s all we’ve ever done.”
Dozens of students stood together at Grimsley High.
Danielle Bostian, a student speaker at Grimsley said, "It's important to never be afraid to use your voice. Always use the platforms available to you to get your message across. Never be scared to speak up."
Sara Jado, a Student Organizer, said “Once we get together as one, all the adults say this is enough and we need a change, we can make a difference.”
Anne Joy Cahill-Swenson, Grimsley student said, “Although we can’t vote right now, we’re gonna do everything within our power to show what we believe and show the change that we think should be made and this walkout is a great example of that.”
Students at various schools encouraged students to register to vote and to call their lawmakers.
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