St. Paul Students Set For Nat'l School Walkout Day
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Students across the country are planning to walk out of class Wednesday at the same time to pay tribute to the 17 people who were killed in a school shooting in Florida.
Wednesday is National School Walkout Day. We have seen many marches since the fatal shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
But Wednesday, we will see something different.
"We understand what's happening and we're angry," said senior Kyle Taylor. "We need this to change and we're demanding that it changes."
Students at Harding High in St. Paul are planning to walk out of their building at 10 a.m. Wednesday, line up around the school and stand for 17 minutes.
Each minute honors one of the people who died last month.
"Students are nervous, they think about it a lot," said Harding High math teacher Francis Jarmick. "I can tell they are having a hard time analyzing it, and knowing what they should feel and what to do about it. But they don't feel safe."
Harding High seniors Taylor, Diamond Stewart and Jacoria Layrock are serving as Student Justice Leaders. They helped organize Wednesday's walkout.
"A lot of kids, they worry about their safety when they come to school, and it shouldn't be like that," Stewart said. "You should feel safe when you come to school."
"I think a big part of it is, you know, it seems like anybody can really get a gun," Taylor said.
"I just imagine like our kids, and our freshmen and our sophomores running out of school. I imagine my little sisters running out of school. That really hit me to the heart," Layrock said.
And they now hope lawmakers will take their concerns to heart.
The St. Paul School District and many others have expressed support for National School Walkout Day.
For students, it is a voluntary event and they are not required to take part.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter plans to join students at Harding High.
