Approximately 200 Gorzycki students walked out of second period on February 23. This was the first and only protest ever to have taken place at Gorzycki Middle School. The students who participated walked out to the courtyard to honor the victims of the Florida shooting and to protest gun violence. The protest began with 17 minutes of silence for the 17 victims of the Florida shooting, which was soon followed by students speaking out against gun violence. Students then walked around the track and returned to the courtyard.Students stayed in the courtyard until the end of third period.

“ I protested because I think that we need to start making a difference and advocate for change,” eighth grader Keira R. said. “ We need to take action so that this never happens again.”

Some students were deeply affected by the protest and decided to speak. There were many students who presented about gun violence and making things change.

“ I wrote poetry because after the Florida shooting, I realized that this could be anyone,” eighth grader L R. said. “ I got to thinking about, What if that was me? What if it was my friends that died? I knew I needed to put those thoughts into paper.”

The protest was entirely organized by Gorzycki students. Many people spread the word through a variety of ways.

“ I posted the information about it on my social media,” eighth grader Bethany H. said. “I thought that would be a good way for people to get the information if they chose to participate,since everyone is on social media a lot.”

Over  200 students participated in the walk out. Students from all three grades came together during the protest.

“ I was a little surprised at how many people there were,” eighth grader Tess L. said. “ I knew that people were talking about doing it but I had no idea how many actually were going to show up. It was definitely a pleasant surprise.”

Although the protest was generally viewed as a success, some students have ideas about how the protest could have been improved.

“ The walk around campus was pretty unorganized,” eighth grader Natalie M. said. “ We were supposed to do 17 laps around the track for the 17 victims of the Florida shooting, but for some reason we didn’t. Also, towards the end people took it as a joke which was a little annoying.”

Shortly following the protest, AISD administration sent out emails regarding the matter. In an email, superintendent Paul Cruz said, “Working together we can all make sure that our campuses and district facilities are the safest they can be.”