On March 14, at 10 a.m., about 450 Vernon Hills students participated in a student-led walkout to protest gun violence in schools.  

Once the bell for second period rang, students left their classrooms and filed out of the school through the main entrance. The walkout lasted about 17 minutes: one minute for every life lost during the Parkland shooting.

The walkout at VHHS was a part of the National School Walkout, organized by the Women’s March Youth EMPOWER. Nationwide, students protested against Congress’ inaction with gun reform and to honor the victims of school shootings.

Once everyone was outside, Anya Caples (12) thanked the crowd for taking a stand and walking out. Avery Hessel (10) then listed the names of all the Parkland shooting victims, telling each person’s story. A six-minute moment of silence followed.  

Afterward, Skylar Torrey (12) gave a speech calling for change and for shooting victims to not be forgotten. Urvi Dubey (10) said the closing remarks, ending the walkout.

“The most important [message in my speech] was that something needed to change. School shootings have become a social norm, and it no longer shocks us when we hear about it on the news, if we hear it on the news,” Torrey said. “This isn’t right.”

Since the walkout, student responses have been mixed; some felt empowered and hopeful, while others felt it was cliché and pointless.

The majority of students did not participate in the walkout. Reasons ranged from disagreeing with the call for gun law reform to doubting the effectiveness of the event.

“I felt like it was a waste of time. If people [in power] actually took actions and respected the cause, then I may have considered,” Rohet Chitikela (11) said.

Jillian Boes (11) chose to not participate, not because she didn’t support the cause, but because of how disorganized and last-minute the walkout at VHHS seemed, especially compared to others schools.

“Something about [our walkout] didn’t sit right with me. A week before the walkout, we didn’t even know where we were doing it. Our school seemed to be doing this like it was a trend,” Boes said. “A good idea was lost to a lot of apathy and lack of preparation.”

A few students felt that the walkout was ineffective, not due to lack of participation or preparation, but because of the lack of respect from other participating students. They were disappointed that some students talked during the beginning of the moment of silence or participated to skip class or be with friends.

“We could’ve been more quiet and given more respect to what happened. People should’ve walked out for the right reason,” Amala Pattabiraman (9) said.

However, Pattabiraman also believed that the majority of students had good intentions and were respectful.

Students who approached teachers or administration about their interest in the walkout were brought together to organize it. The walkout was student-organized because the school could not sponsor students leaving class, Dr. Guillaume said.

During meetings, the student organizers planned out the logistics and agenda for the event. They decided on speeches and six minutes of silence rather than a full 17-minute moment of silence, a sit down or a lay down.

“As a group, we all felt that walking out was a bigger statement,” Starla Lawrence (12), student organizer, said.

District administration, school resource officers, security and the Vernon Hills Police Department worked together to ensure the safety of students and staff. Mr. Stilling put together a full plan for the walkout, and teachers that didn’t have classes could volunteer to help supervise.

Students participating in the walkout were marked as having an unexcused absence for their second period class. Although the absence was unexcused because the walkout was not a school-sponsored event, there was no consequence for walking out.

“It was really powerful that our school gave us the choice; they didn’t have any disciplinary actions,” Drshika Asher (11) said. “I felt like using that choice helped me feel powerful and helped me feel like I had an impact, however little it may be.”