In lieu of a walkout, Benicia High students organized a rally in the quad during Access Period to pay tribute to the victims of school shootings and call for stricter gun control measures. (Photo by George Johnston)
Unlike at the thousands of schools across the country, zero students walked out of Benicia High School during the National School Walkout. Instead, students held a rally in the quad during Access Period to give speeches on preventing future gun violence and improving their school.
Senior Carson Rendell began the rally with a moment of silence for the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland Fla. on Feb. 14 He then delivered the first speech of day, focusing on the many victims of school shootings and how easily he believed gun violence could be prevented with stricter gun control laws like stronger background checks and bans on assault weapons.
“When will we realize this is a problem?” Rendell asked. “When will we take a step back and look at the fact that in this country there are 300 million people here, and there are over 300 million people with guns? That in states like Florida, 18-year-olds do not have to go through a background check to buy an assault rifle and and on average 96 people are killed each day by guns?”
Kaitlyn Tang gave the second speech, calling for her fellow students to take action so that young people would not have to fear attending school. Joseph Perez read from a poem he had written, titled “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Politician.”
Lisa St. Pierre and Lulu Wilson delivered a joint speech, saying America was on the catalyst of change and that the current generation will not rest until this change has
happened. The duo also called for more support of mental illness and health care, and criticized arming teachers.
“We have the right to come to school without being shot,” St. Pierre and Wilson said. “We shouldn’t come to school with the fear of death every time we hear the fire alarm and hear someone speak on the loudspeaker or even when someone opens our classroom door. This is not a matter of right and left. This is a matter of life and death.”
Shannon Sweeney, the senior class president, laid out the legislative rules of the Never Again movement: banning assault rifles, expanding background checks, passing gun violence restraining laws and stopping the militarization of police. She then made a call for civic engagement.
“We can make a change,” Sweeney said. “In 2012 in the general election, only 38 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds voted. We need to bring this change to the ballot box. We must demand it from our legislators. We are the future voters. We will not accept their complacency or corruption, and if it continues we will replace them.”
Upon completion of Access Period, students returned to class.
However, one Benicia Unified School District student did walk out: at Matthew Turner Elementary School. Earlier in the morning, Emma Willeford’s mother explained, without going into much detail, why people were protesting and asked Emma if she would be interested in joining the national movement. According to her mother, Emma thought it over and agreed to walk out of school.
Around 10 a.m. Emma was picked up by her mother and met outside by her stepsister, who was a holding a protest sign. For 17 minutes, Emma Willeford waited outside as a part of the walkout. When the 17 minutes were completed, Mrs. Willeford signed Emma back into school. Emma’s teachers were understanding of her choice, according to Mrs. Willeford.
Mrs. Willeford said she was very proud of Emma.
Benicia will next be participating in the March for Our Lives 10 a.m. Saturday, March 24 at the foot of First Street.
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Many of the children indeed were NOT for gun control. They were sucked into this and decided to keep their mouth shut. Your headline insinuates all the children were on the same page. Classic fake news.
Actually, Lh Johnson, it does not insinuate that.
What would you prefer it to be? “Some, but not all, Benicia High students rally on campus for gun control, but also some don’t, and some don’t have an opinion one way or another”? Typical snowflake getting worked up over a title.
Actually, everything in the article was pro gun control. I didn’t read anything that stated an opposing opinion. As reported, it would appear everyone at the rally, the entire student body is pro gun control. Very one sided
…Of course it is? I mean… That’s what the event is about. If I wrote an article about Benicia High School grad night, I wouldn’t mention what the football team is up to. The article is about an event which is focused on gun control. There wasn’t an event going on during campus which was about the opposing opinion, so it’d be forced and pandering to sensitive readers to just jam in opinions when this is about what was going on.. It takes a pretty severe victim complex to see it as one-sided and agenda driven, and not as a simple, short interest piece.
Perhaps some of the folks that felt this piece was somehow biased, should round them up some pro-school-shooting high school kids and write a collective letter to the editor.
This event was meant to be an acknowledgement of the horror of a high-school shooting, and many of those who are horrified want action taken that will minimize the threat of another one of these occurrences. How can anyone oppose this? I cannot believe that the reporting of this event has gotten some people calling out “fake news” and “what about the pro-gun point of view?” Jeez, it’s kinda scary how desperate the voices of those who fear losing their guns can be. Relax. Let’s just try to make it a little harder for people to kill our own kids, shall we?
Just curious about the reaction to the item below from headlines today…
A high school teacher in California was placed on leave on Wednesday after she questioned what she said was a “double standard” in the nationwide school walkouts.
“We had a dialogue in class about it in Thursday and Friday. And today I received the call. So I am aghast,” Rocklin High School teacher Julianne Benzel told the CBS affiliate in Sacremento.
Benzel said she did not discourage students from taking part in the walkout.
“And so I just kind of used the example, which I know it’s really controversial, but I know it was the best example I thought of at the time — a group of students nationwide, or even locally, decided ‘I want to walk out of school for 17 minutes’ and go in the quad area and protest abortion, would that be allowed by our administration?” she told the television station.
“If you’re going to allow students to walk up and get out of class without penalty then you have to allow any group of students that wants to protest,” she said.
Protest/promote whatever you want. Just keep in mind that some topics of protest are not going to be a draw in comparison to others.
I challenge you to share your comment with some of your friends and colleagues. Ask if it fits the description of intelligent dialogue. Gun Advocates head straight for their Corners when the word “Gun & control” are used in the same sentence. Precisely because of attitudes such as yours.
How do you define “gun advocate”?
Thomas you know exactly what it means.
Bob, I don’t recall asking you. I’ll wait for lh to answer, if that is alright with you.