Delaware students hold school walkouts Wednesday to honor Florida shooting victims

Delaware high school students are holding school walkouts at 10 a.m. Wednesday – in some cases without the consent of school officials – to show their support for victims of the deadly Feb. 14 shooting in Florida and to advocate for stricter gun laws.

They will be part of a national movement. At 10 a.m. in every time zone, organizers are encouraging teachers, students, administrators, parents and allies to walk out for 17 minutes – one minute for every person killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Valentine’s Day.

Students in Delaware are working together, connecting via email and social media to coordinate. They plan on wearing orange and using the Twitter hashtags #dewalkouts and #enough. Some students are considering reciting the names of the victims or singing songs like Amazing Grace, while others may give short speeches and carry signs.

"Our main goal is to have common sense gun legislation introduced as soon as possible," said Sofia Rose, a senior at John Dickinson High School. "While common sense gun control means something different to everyone, it is important to foster discussions about what gun laws are going to do the most to prevent future tragedies.

"Students who survived the Parkland shooting are hoping that this most recent mass shooting will go down in history as not just another school shooting, but as the last one. This is a lofty goal, but the only way we can push Congress to listen to the brave Parkland students is by raising our voices with them."

To that end, students at more than 20 Delaware schools are planning walkouts. Some districts, like Red Clay, have said they will not actively promote or encourage the walkouts, but will not take disciplinary action against students who take part.

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and state Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-South Newark, will attend and speak at a walkout at Cab Calloway School of the Arts and The Charter School of Wilmington, which share a building. Students there will have posters dedicated to each victim. On one side, will be the victims' names, ages and pictures. On the other side of the posters will be a short advocacy message.

"A team of Cab and CSW students are bringing this movement to their school communities," reads a Charter School of Wilmington . "Not only is this a milestone for our collective community, but it’s also a milestone for many individuals as this is their first venture into advocacy and taking direct action to stand up for what they believe in."

Students at the Wilmington Friends School staged a walkout Feb. 21.

In a statement, Christina School District Superintendent Richard Gregg said students will not be disciplined for participating in peaceful protests.

"I feel it is important to communicate that the Christina School District administration supports the rights of students to express themselves safely and peacefully, and there will be no disciplinary actions toward students who participate in organized protest activities," Gregg said.

"Administrators in the district have chosen to view this as an opportunity for students to raise awareness about school safety and to participate in the democratic process."

Other school districts have condemned the walkouts as unsafe and have asked students not to leave the building.

Kevin Fitzgerald, superintendent of Caesar Rodney School District, said students should look for other ways to voice their discontentment with gun laws. He said students may be punished for walking out.

"Unfortunately, schools have become soft targets," he said. "And when I hear everybody do this, on this particular day, I worry. How do I keep my students safe?"

"I can't say this is a good idea. I can't guarantee they'll be safe when they leave my buildings."

When students disagreed with his stance on Facebook, their comments were deleted, they said.

Student-led walkouts will be allowed at Cape Henlopen High School and Sussex Academy, while Indian River School District announced it was prioritizing safety in a letter home to parents last week.

"A school walkout would not only be a major safety concern but a disruptive event to the educational process for all students," superintendent Mark Steele said in the letter. "Therefore, we do not support this protest and our expectation is that students will remain in the building, as we are unable to provide the same level of safety outside in an open area."

Steele said he consulted with police agencies, school safety personnel and building principals before the decision was made. Per IRSD policy, students can hold "peaceful assembly" as long as it doesn't disrupt classes or other scheduled activities within the school.

On March 14, students and staff will instead be able to "develop activities within the safety of our buildings that will provide students a way to voice their concerns no matter where they fall in this debate," Steele said in the letter.

Ryan Tack-Hooper, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, said students should contact the ACLU if they think they're being unfairly punished for exercising their First Amendment rights.

"You don't get a free pass just because the thing you're doing is righteous," he said. "Students can be disciplined for missing or substantially disrupting classes. But extra punishment for a protest would raise serious First Amendment concerns. We would want to hear from any student who faced more discipline for a protest than they faced for other missed classes. Of course, just because a school can discipline students doesn’t mean they should. We encourage schools to exercise restraint.”

Students at Caesar Rodney, who started a new Twitter account, CR Riders for Change, to share their opinions on the matter, said they'll take whatever punishment is doled out and plan on walking out despite Fitzgerald's disapproval. There will be a town hall-style Q&A session with local legislators directly following the walkout, they announced on Twitter.

The Milford School District does not condone students leaving the building. Milford High School will have an inside safe zone designated for students who choose to walk out for the 17 minutes, and elementary and middle school students will not be permitted to walk out without a parent, or legal guardian, physically signing the student out from school for an early dismissal.

High school students that elect to walk out will be marked unexcused and will be responsible for making up any missed classwork.

"While we support the student voice and freedom of expression, Milford School District does not endorse participation in protest or walkout events nor do we sponsor them," Superintendent Kevin A. Dickerson said in a letter to parents.

Patricia Oliphant, director of Sussex Academy in Georgetown, said she believes in letting students exercise their first amendment rights.

I'm allowing it because I believe (students) have rights to freedom of speech," said Patricia Oliphant, director of Sussex Academy. "It's their way of honoring (the victims) and at the same time believing the gun violence is tragic and needs to stop."

A Sussex Academy student had expressed her concerns about the shooting to a social studies teacher, saying she wanted to do something regarding the walkout, according to Oliphant. The teacher told her to come up with a plan, and she did.

Students who don't want to participate in the walkout, which will be held inside the school, can remain in class uninterrupted.

"We don't have to worry about being outside the building, and that was the student's design," Oliphant said.

Walkouts planned

Nationally, school walkouts are being organized by the Women's March Youth EMPOWER group. Rose participated in a conference call this week with 200 youth from around the nation planning their own, local protests.

Students at the following schools and colleges are planning walkouts for March 14. Note that some walkouts may not be sanctioned by school officials:

Archmere Academy

Brandywine High School

Cape Henlopen High School

Cab Calloway School of Arts

Caesar Rodney High School

Caravel Academy

Claymont Elementary

Concord High School

Conrad Schools of Science

Charter School of Wilmington,

Downes Elementary School

John Dickinson High School

Kuumba Academy Charter School

Dover High School

Mount Pleasant High School

Middletown High School

Newark High School

Newark Charter School

Padua Academy

P.S. duPont Middle School

Salesianum School

Seaford High School

Springer Middle School

St. Mark's High School

Sussex Academy

Tower Hill School

Ursuline Academy

William Penn High School

MOT Charter High School

University of Delaware (Memorial Hall)

Note: This list may not be complete. If a school is not listed, please email jbies@delawareonline.com.

NATIONAL SCHOOL WALKOUT

What parents should know about the National School Walkout

A warning to potential shooters: These schools are armed

'The shots were close': 911 calls reveal moments of terror at Parkland

'Gun-free school zones' take weapons from kids, not cops

DelmarvaNow's Taylor Goebel contributed to this report. Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.

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