REVOLUTIONARY: Poly students organize an on-campus “walkout” and a march to combat gun violence in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida shooting.
By Jesse Brady, Editor
On March 14 — just one month after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — Poly students were given the opportunity to participate in a “day of solidarity” in which they received a free period of 17 minutes and could walk up to the field to listen to students speak their opinions about gun control. The three organizers, Annabel Davis (12), Melissa Soria (12), and Ayanna Johnson (12), gave speeches calling for reform in gun laws.
Organizing this event was no easy feat. It all began when Davis opened the instagram account “polyhswalkouts” to “unite and take action to honor, aid, and advocate for our fellow students in Parkland, FL and other victims of gun violence,” as explained in the account’s first post. Davis is very passionate about gun control, as her sister (former Poly student Ellen Davis) attended the Route 91 Harvest music festival, where 59 people died due to gun violence. Luckily, Ellen survived. Davis soon joined forces with Soria and Johnson, who she felt not only had important things to say, but also brought different points of view and diversity to the movement. Soria is the president of M.E.C.H.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán) and Johnson is a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB) as well as the Black Student Union (BSU).
The trio had to jump through many hoops to get permission from administration— countless meetings were held before the walkout. Soria describes the process as “grueling… and very stressful” as well as having “a whole behind the scenes thing that people didn’t see.” “Not only did we have to put on this big, important event that needed to happen, but we also had to fight the adults for the spotlight” Davis said. She feels that this is reflective of the movement as a whole— “the kids are saying [to the adults] ‘you had your chance, back off— [it’s our turn now].’”
The group agrees that while the walkout went well (especially for being the first event of its kind on the Poly campus) it could have gone better in terms of participation (among other things). Most importantly, it was a learning experience. “On one hand we’re very grateful that administration was willing to give the kids the benefit of the doubt, saying ‘if you want to exercise your first amendment right, do it!’— but on the other hand, [Dr. Michael Roe] kind of made it less about the issue and more about coming together and making sure everyone’s heard,” Davis said. Despite the struggles of organizing the event, the group is proud of what they’ve accomplished and they are very thankful for those that participated. “It shouldn’t [have to] affect [students] personally for them to care,” Johnson said— “it shouldn’t take [our] friends dying for [us] to take action.” The Poly walkout is only the beginning— there is a lot more to come in terms of the group’s involvement with the gun control discussion and school safety.