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West Michigan students ‘walkout’

Posted at 4:38 AM, Mar 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-15 07:53:26-04

WEST MICHIGAN -- A month after seventeen lives were taken during the United States' deadliest mass school shooting, schools and students across the nation walked out to promote their rights and safety in schools.

"A lot of the students here at City are very involved citizens which is a really great thing about our culture here. The student response was relatively positive in terms of wanting to participate in the walk out and make our voices heard and stand in solidarity with other students," said Gabrielle Rabon, a student at Grand Rapids City High Middle School. "I just think it is a really good opportunity to see how we can civilly protest and be involved with the political and global conversations about our nation and its culture and the state we want it to be in without coming across as childish or rash or radical or causing anyone harm."

Watch the walk outs as they happened here.

"It isn't just about the walk out or Parkland or about the march on the 24th," said Ellie Lancaster, a student at Grand Rapids City High Middle School.  "It is movement that won't stop until we have safety in schools so this isn't just going to die, this isn't just a fad."

Some of the schools participating are:

  • City High Middle School
  • Walker Park
  • Muskegon Area Career Tech Center
  • Kenowa Hills High School
  • Northview High School
  • Byron Center High School
  • East Kentwood High School
  • Godwin Heights High School
  • Grandville High School
  • Forest Hills Central High School
  • East Grand Rapids High School
  • Forest Hills Eastern High School
  • Grand Rapids Christian High School
  • WKK Prep Library
  • Kalamazoo Central High School
  • Western Michigan University
  • Mattawan High School
  • Loy Norrix High School
  • Calendonia High School
  • Portage Central Middle School
  • North Muskegon School District
  • Milwood Middle School
  • Northridge High School
  • Grandville Middle School
  • Jenison High School

"I think the most important thing to note is that this isn't a political issue, it is a matter of safety for students in schools and no one regardless of party affiliation or political beliefs whatsoever can feel safe in a school where there is the potential of gun violence especially if you are a student that feels kind of powerless in response to that," Rabon said. "I think it is really nice that students nationwide have stood up and said 'we are here for those schools who have suffered and we are fed up with it and we are not standing for this kind of treatment.'"

RELATED: ‘I don’t think it’s going to be effective’ — Critics of national school walkout speak up