Brighton HS students mourn during national school walk out
Mar 14, 2018, 1:12 PM | Updated: 11:50 pm
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS – More than 100 students spilled out of the student section of the football bleachers at Brighton High School for 17 minutes of quiet in coordination with the National Student Walk Out Day Wednesday morning.
Student organizers held up signs with the names of the Parkland, Florida shooting victims while the students sat in relative silence.
“I want them to be able to take the emotions they were feeling and channel it into something, so that’s why I want to call upon them to talk to legislators, to register to vote early on,” said senior organizer Isaac Reese.
Also there in support, a former elementary teacher whose kids went to Brighton High School.
“The students in Florida started making a difference. How could we not, how could you not support the students when they’re actually creating enough of a stir to make a difference? We can only hope,” said Bonnie Despain.
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Off to the side, some students watched on, not fully approving of the protest. Others stayed inside class altogether.
“See this is like really pointless. Like I know it’s got like a meaning behind it, mourning the loss of 17 kids, but in reality most of the kids doing this here to just get out of class,” said student Skyler Christensen.
He and others we spoke to say while they see aspects of gun reform necessary, they believe people should have the right to arm themselves. In addition, they felt this large scale movement was not the proper way to mourn.
Like in our national dialogue, it’s evident that this a very politically charged conversation for these high schoolers. Students say there has been much discussion and contention on campus.
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Canyons School District administrators are also letting Brighton High School students walk out of class for the anniversary of the Columbine shooting on April 20. While they say they are staying neutral on the topic of gun control, they want to make sure students can protest in a safe environment.
