On March 14, students across the country walked out of their classrooms and demanded stronger gun-control for a safer school environment. The walkout lasted 17 minutes that served as a tribute to the 17 students and staff that lost their lives at Stoneman Douglas High School one month ago. 30% of the FHN students participated in the walkout during their homeroom hour.

“This country is going through some very serious turmoil over this issue right now and it needs to be addressed,” junior Haley Peer said.

Several students including Carolynn Gonzalez, Uma Upamaka, Anna Lindquist, Aakruthi Pasuparthi, Christian Witte, Amber Pryor and Maddy Brewer gave powerful speeches explaining why students everywhere were participating.  

“I really liked that they didn’t make their speeches about politics,” sophomore Grace Bales said. “They made it apply to a broad range of people so that we can all learn from each other.”

Students were able to approve the event with the administration before it took place. Although the walkout was student lead, the students were asked by administrators to move the event onto the football field rather than the bus slots to ensure their safety.

“My initial reaction to hearing about the walkout was just to listen and understand what the students were wanting to do,” Principal Andy Downs said. “It’s something we have to make sure that we’re thinking about and ensuring that everyone can be safe.”

Students at FHN left their homerooms to go to the football field to listen to the speeches and have a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives.

“I hope that the outcome of today will be that people stop focusing on the less important topics,” sophomore Alex Romero said. “Us students are passionate about wanting a change and we’re only going to keep growing.”