Live coverage: National Walkout Day in Colorado Springs
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The GazetteMarch 14, 2018 | updated 8 years ago
Freshman Casey Gurtler, left, and sophomore Jordyn Rogers lock arms with other students as they surround the Palmer High School campus in downtown Colorado Springs Wednesday, March 14, 2018, during the national student walkout against school violence. About one-third to a half of Palmer 1,650 students walked out of school for 17-minute, one minute for each student killed in the shooting in Parkland, Florida last month. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) (CHRISTIAN MURDOCK)
Hundreds of students across several school districts in the Colorado Springs area walked out of class on Wednesday, the one-month anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 staff and students dead.
The Women’s March Youth EMPOWER group, an offshoot of the progressive Women’s March, which advocates for rights of women, immigrants, health care users and others, issued the March 14 call to action.
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At 10 a.m. in every time zone, students and other supporters at Palmer and Coronado high schools in Colorado Springs walked out for 17 minutes, symbolizing one minute for each person killed during the Florida mass shooting.
The protest, according to organizers, is aimed at legislators and calls for gun-reform policies.
“Enough is enough. We want to make our voices heard,” said Maya Berry, who’s organizing the event for students at Palmer High School in downtown Colorado Springs.
Some 200 students are expected to gather on the sidewalks around Palmer’s main school building at Nevada and Platte avenues.
During the event at Coronado, the names of the 17 students and staff killed in Florida last month will be read, and speakers are planned. Students will be offered signs, voter registration information and how to contact state and national legislators.
Students at Rampart High in Academy School District 20 and Cheyenne Mountain High in Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 also are planning walkouts.
Freshman Casey Gurtler, left, and sophomore Jordyn Rogers lock arms with other students as they surround the Palmer High School campus in downtown Colorado Springs Wednesday, March 14, 2018, during the national student walkout against school violence. About one-third to a half of Palmer 1,650 students walked out of school for 17-minute, one minute for each student killed in the shooting in Parkland, Florida last month. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) (CHRISTIAN MURDOCK)Palmer High School participating in the National Walkout and 17 minutes of silence in honor of the students effected by the school shooting in Florida (Eric Singer, The Gazette)Coronado High School students Elizabeth Myers spoke during the walkout at Coronado on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Amelia Herman)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Amelia Herman)Mann Middle School participated in National Walkout Day and 17 minutes of silence on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in honor of the students effected by the school shooting in Florida. (John Bowlby & Ashley Tyminas, Mann Middle School)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Courtesy of Amelia Herman)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Amelia Herman)“Powerful walkout today thanks to our young leaders here and around the country. Colorado has taken steps on guns and we need to do more,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper tweeted March 14. (Photo courtesy of Hickenlooper via Twitter)Freshman Casey Gurtler stands alone Nevada Avenue Wednesday, March 14, 2018, as students from Palmer High School line the streets around the school as part of the national student walkout against school violence. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) (CHRISTIAN MURDOCK)Students at Palmer High School protested Wednesday morning. (Eric Singer, The Gazette) (Eric Singer, The Gazette)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Sophomore Elizabeth Myers spoke to students. (Courtesy of Amelia Herman) (Amelia Herman)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Courtesy of Amelia Herman) (Amelia Herman)Mann Middle School participating in the National Walkout and 17 minutes of silence in honor of the students effected by the school shooting in Florida. (John Bowlby & Ashley Tyminas, Mann Middle School) (John Bowlby & Ashley Tyminas, Mann Middle School)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Courtesy of Amelia Herman)Coronado High School students in Colorado Springs School District 11 participated in National Walkout Day on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Courtesy of Amelia Herman) (Amelia Herman)Freshman Casey Gurtler stands alone Nevada Avenue Wednesday, March 14, 2018, as students from Palmer High School line the streets around the school as part of the national student walkout against school violence. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) (CHRISTIAN MURDOCK)Freshman Casey Gurtler, left, and sophomore Jordyn Rogers lock arms with other students as they surround the Palmer High School campus in downtown Colorado Springs Wednesday, March 14, 2018, during the national student walkout against school violence. About one-third to a half of Palmer 1,650 students walked out of school for 17-minute, one minute for each student killed in the shooting in Parkland, Florida last month. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) (CHRISTIAN MURDOCK)“Powerful walkout today thanks to our young leaders here and around the country. Colorado has taken steps on guns and we need to do more,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper tweeted March 14. (Photo courtesy of Hickenlooper via Twitter)
