MATTAWAN, Mich. — The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida returned to classes for the first time since over a dozen of their peers were killed two weeks ago on Valentines Day. For some of the students at nearby Mattawan High School, the shooting hit close to home, they said.
“You go on Twitter, Instagram [and] see stuff by students that’s just gone viral or see videos of things that you kind of wish you could un-see but that are true and are real and what happened,” said senior Seth Benscoter. “I felt called to do something. Obviously, these guys did as well.”
Benscoter, along with his classmates Jolie Foor and Lou Chibende, decided to organize a walkout he said. They’re all in student government and began planning the event a few days ago. On Wednesday afternoon, close to a thousand students walked out of school.
“It definitely was way more than what we expected,” said senior Jolie Foor. “It was incredible to stand with all the students in the school, who wanted to participate and just walk in silence for victims of violence and to love and support one another."
The students walked out at 1:17 p.m. to honor the 17 lives lost that day. They marched around the parking lots on school grounds, making a loop between the middle school and high school. Organizers said they were inspired to do it when they saw other schools nationwide protesting.
"We may be teenagers," said 17-year-old Chibende. "But if we all band together we can create something that’s bigger than you think."
The march was to honor all the victims of gun violence, they said, including the ones who were killed and injured in the 2016 Kalamazoo Shootings. Tyler Smith was one of the few who were killed during the rampage. He and Chibende played soccer together.
"This is an issue that everyone needs to come together and figure out how can we get this to stop," said Chibende.
The organizers said that their march was not meant to be political but they are proud to be a part of the movement. However, they hope the adults hear their message.
"It's not okay to go ahead and be worried about having to be shot at school," said Chibende. "School is a place for education and we shouldn’t have to be worried about going to school an ending up dead. "
