KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Hundreds of Loy Norrix students lined the track at the Football Field for a student organized but district sanctioned and supervised “walk-out” this morning at the Kalamazoo High School.
It was one of hundreds of similar events at schools all over the U.S. called for by the student survivors in Lakeland, Florida, following last month’s mass shooting.
Public Safety Officers patrolled the parking lot and Staff Security at the event was evident.
Student organizer Alina Offerman says she didn’t know what to expect and was quite moved when the huge throng of students came pouring out of the building and onto the football field. They gave speeches, read the names of the victims and lit candles.
The students held up handmade signs. After 17 minutes in the cold they went back inside.
Offerman says it was a good showing and a powerful event, and they plan to follow it up by encouraging students to write their legislators to urge them to act for the safety of the children.
Michaela Martin, who was on the organizing committee said there have been a lot of school shootings, what makes this one different is that teens and school students everywhere are feeling the anxiety, realizing they are not immune from this kind of violence, and even if they are too young to vote, they are letting their parents know how they feel, and they can vote.
They say they feel safe at Loy Norrix generally speaking and know that the staff will do what they can to protect them, but they also realize that they can only do so much, so that fear is there.
A national event in Washington D.C. , the “March for Our Lives”, is planned for Saturday, March 24th as the survivors of Lakeland continue to press their case and take directly to the seat of power.
