Dobie students walk out in protest
Walkout was to protest school violence
April 20, 2018
Filed under News
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Dozens of Dobie Jr. High School students participated in a national walkout today to protest school violence and advocate for gun control. The protest started at 10 a.m. Teachers and administrators who watched over students during the protest estimated that about 50 students participated in the protest.
“I walked out knowing one of the biggest school shootings happened 19 years ago and still, 19 years later, nothing has stopped this problem!” said Hope Carl, 8th grader.
“Personally I never thought I would be part of a walkout, I really had no idea about the walkout until right before. The teachers really didn’t condone the event, but they definitely didn’t tell us to hide our opinions. Voices need to be heard,” said Camille Jackson, 8th grader.
Mr. Simmons speaks to students during the walk out.
Some students walked out of their classrooms to the front of the school and some walked to the back of the school. Students stood silently together as administrators and teachers watched over them. Students were told to return to class after 17 minutes. No students will have absences because of the walkout because SCUCISD decided not to give negative consequences for the protest.
Darian Lester, an 8th grade Dobie student who protested, said she was excited about the protest and she’s glad she did it. “It was calming, yet nerve-wracking,” she said.
Many students said they stayed in their classes for fear of negative consequences from the school or at home. “I didn’t walk out because my dad is a cop. If he would have found out I did it I would have gotten in huge trouble,” said Madelyn Cordova, 8th grader.
Mr. Vernon Simmons, Dobie Jr. High School Principal, spoke to some of the students. He told them about how students can make a difference by showing kindness, and even if there is a small change it could make a difference in society. “I’m not against a walkout, but if we have a voice, we need to make a change. Swap the negative to the positive,” Mr. Simmons said in an interview after the walkout.
Word about the protest spread on social media. Arianna Baldwin, 8th grader, chose not to walk out because she didn’t want negative consequences. “It was all over social media. Kids were talking about walking out at exactly 10 a.m. to protest.”
Salvador Ramos, 8th grader, said he heard about the protest from one of his friends. “I realized I had to attend because I do believe in stricter gun laws,” he said.
Simmons said that school and district officials had been preparing for the walkout. “We have been talking about it, the district figuring out how to handle it. We as a district decided to encourage the kids to do something positive,” he said.
Some Dobie students were confused and didn’t know what the purpose of the walkout was. A few students found out about the protest during class and followed the crowd.
Autumn Yoder, 8th grader, said the protest had special meaning to her because gun violence in Florida affected her personally. “I lost a long time friend in the shooting; it was heartbreaking to find her name on the victim list. Seeing people out there made me cry because I remembered Cara,” she said.
Local media coverage shared news coverage about high schools participating in the protests that were on the 19th anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine, Colorado.
When asked about his thoughts on gun control, Simmons said preventing gun violence was complicated.
“The stricter laws . . .we can put laws in places to make it more difficult, but people who want guns, they’ll find a way to get guns. And it’s not all mental health issues,” he said.
Nevaeh Riojas, 7th grader, said students should take steps to make a difference in their own ways. “Simple acts of kindness could save lives,” she said.
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Very nice article! I loved all of the info
This is SUCH a good article!!! I like all of the interviews you did and how you worded them. Good job!!!!!
Nice article! I participated in this with my friend Natasha and it was very fun! I would do it again.
Great article!!! The walkout was so brave and the kids who protested about it have courage. Im proud of our school and standing up for this becuase i truly do need a change. This article is fantastic!!!
This is a really good article 🙂 I liked how there were different point of views from different people. Good job:)
this is a great article and i love the detail
I loved all of the quotes and information you put into this story. Keep it up!
Nice Article i enjoyed all the information about the walkiout
Nice article, I walked out too.
I didn’t even know a walk out was happening, cool I guess.
I love the article and I really love what it is about. I also love how quickly this got put up.
Good job on the article. was good to see multiple students working together.
This was such a great article because there’s so much detail. Great job!!!
This is a great article. The information given is amazing. I love all the good quotes. I love how this article is put together. Good job!
this is a very interesting article!! it really shows how we, as students, care about gun control laws and those who have pasted because of them.
I should have walked out to support!
I should’ve walked out. I didn’t know!!!!
great article, love the detail!
Touchy subject, but amazing story
I really enjoyed this article. I hope all these walkouts will make a difference!
really good information I was curious about what happen.
I walked out at 10 o’clock and there were exactly 17 kids!! Some of the teachers were out there too and ms. Navarro was crying. My group stood in a circle and held hands
Great article I loved it
This was very well written and summarized. It’s important to stand up for what you believe in.
Really like the info that you put in the story. And of how fast you posted that after it happened.
Great job on giving information! Very descriptive!
The article is very good. I like the quotes in the story
This is an interesting article. Good job writing it.
This is a good article, I like how you have many quotes. Good Job.
Nice article, I walked out too!
Nice article. Good job showing different points of view and INCREDIBLE job doing it all in one class period!!!!
I really liked this article expect how it said protest when really it is not a protest
It’s an amazing article. It’s very touching
There are so many great quotes in this article!
It’s very touching.
i love this article because i was there to see for myself, and i also love all the detail yall added!
You got this out right in time! This is such a good article! You got real quotes and opinions on the matter from students and teachers.
great article.I like the way you put the quotes in the exact order of the story. lots of information about the walkout and what it was about.
I think this was a great article! I especially liked how you put the quotes in, and I think they had a lot of information!
this was great! i don’t regret walking out and the information you gave was amazing!
You guys got this out right in time! This is such a good article! Its great that you got real opinions and quotes from students and administrators.
I really liked this article, it was really informative and helped me better understand others view on the protest.