The student walkout on Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was like most of the demonstrations around the country; part memorial and part anti-gun activism.
It was hard to walk among the flowers, the posters, the notes and the students and others without being moved to tears. Many of the student wore #neveragain T-shirts and others carried signs urging legislators, state and national, to address gun violence and the proliferation of assault rifles like the one used by the accused ex-Douglas High student Nicolas Cruz to kill 14 teens and three faculty members one month ago on February 14.
The names of the victims were read from a hill top on the east side of the school grounds.
Newspaper and television reporters and photographers from around the state and the country were out in force interviewing anyone who would stop and talk.
Stan Grunski, a Russian newscaster working for Voice of America, said his crew, based in Miami, had been on the scene since the shooting. “There is great interest around the world, he said. “Everyone wants to know if the students can manage to accomplish what the politicians haven’t been able to do.”
A smaller walkout was held at Coral Springs High School where students walked around the running track for 17 minutes in honor of the victims.
A man wearing a Guardian Angels jacket, who identified himself as “Rob” said, “We are still on the job in Florida protecting people who need our help.”
The students returned to class after about an hour, but the signs and notes remain for the public to see and think about.
All pictures and video by Ardy Friedberg and Susie Friedberg for SouthFloridaReporter.com
