SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2018
Walkout
from 1A
the group’s website states. “On
March 24, the kids and families
of March For Our Lives will
take to the streets of
Washington, D.C., to demand
that their lives and safety
become a priority. The collec-
tive voices of the March For
Our Lives movement will be
heard.”
On the one-month anniver-
sary of the shooting, people
across the nation participated in
763 official and many addition-
al unofficial “sibling marches”
in the U.S. and worldwide. In
Oregon, official marches were
held in 21 school districts,
including schools in Eugene,
Coos Bay, Newport and
Portland.
However, the walkout was
not without complications.
Some school administrations
across the country claimed that
students would be reprimanded
for leaving school buildings, in
some cases leveraging a two-
day suspension against stu-
dents. Students marched any-
way, especially when colleges
took to social media to alert
students that they would not
penalize students during their
admission processes.
“Dartmouth supports active
citizenship and applauds stu-
dents’ expression of their
beliefs,” tweeted Dartmouth
College, in Hanover, N.H., on
Feb. 23. “Participation in
peaceful protest in no way
jeopardizes your admission to
Dartmouth, even if you are dis-
ciplined or suspended. Speak
your truth.”
Other colleges who spoke in
support of high school students
included
Harvard,
Yale,
Wellesley College, UCLA and
MIT. Many said that students’
applications and scholarships
would remain intact.
In school districts where
marches were forbidden, some
students chose to kneel in hall-
ways or other common spaces,
“taking a knee” in a form of
protest recently popularized by
players in the National Football
League, who chose to kneel
during the National Anthem to
draw attention to the Black
Lives Matter movement, gun
violence and systemic racism
against Africans Americans.
Other people advocated not
for a student walkout, but for a
“walk up.” What started as a
Tweet urged students to “Walk
up to the kid who sits alone at
lunch and invite him to sit with
your group; walk up to the kid
who sits quietly in the corner of
the room and sit next to her.”
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With #WalkUpNotOut, peo-
ple are encouraged to approach
people and offer a kind word,
offering a challenge to students
to talk to 14 students and three
adults at their schools “in honor
of those who died in Florida.”
Arbor Prep High School in
Michigan participated in Walk
Up by giving students 17 sticky
notes to leave messages to
“brighten someone’s day.”
Instagram user Danielle Rae
said, “As I walked the halls I
was overcome with pride for
these kids. Not a single locker
was untouched and they took
special care to ensure that
everyone from admin to the
tech guy and custodian
received some love.”
While
school
districts
embraced the message of Walk
Up — both in terms of stopping
students from leaving during
class time and for losing the
emphasis on gun control —
opponents claimed that “walk-
ing up” put too much responsi-
bility on students. In addition,
some worried that it could be a
form of victim blaming, as stu-
dents take on the pressure of
deflecting violence.
“It’s like telling a domestic
abuse sufferer that if she’d just
been nicer to her abuser, she
wouldn’t have been hit. That
the issue of school shootings
isn’t really about shootings, but
about being nicer,” said
Upworthy
author
Annie
Reneau on March 14.
She quoted a Facebook post
that said, “The message you are
sending her is that she is
responsible for the mass shoot-
ing, she didn’t do enough to
stop it, she can prevent another
one from happening — if she
just cares a little more.”
In another social media
post, author Glennon Doyle
wrote, “‘Walk Up Not Out’ is
the ‘All Lives Matter’ of gun
reform. It is another way to
deflect responsibilities from
the adults and the legislators
and the NRA and the GUNS in
this country.
“It is NOT our children’s
responsibility to protect them-
selves from gun violence. It is
ours. (sic)”
Not everyone saw the con-
cepts as mutually exclusive.
One of the Never Again
MSD students, David Hogg,
tweeted, “The first step to
changing the world is believ-
ing that you can.”
He then used a new
social
media
phrase,
“ # Wa l k O u t a n d Wa l k U p , ”
showing that, for the founders
of the movement, anything
that brought harmony to
schools can prove beneficial.
The
National
School
Walkout may be over, but
more marches are planned,
including the main March For
Our Lives on Saturday, March
24, in Washington, D.C.
Another protest will be on
April 20, the anniversary of
the 1999 Columbine High
School shooting in Colorado.
Hogg said, “The policy
makers in this country must
work together. And I don’t
care if you’re a Republican or
a Democrat. These are chil-
dren’s lives.”
The MSD students continue
to lobby politicians as they use
social media platforms and tra-
ditional news outlets.
In an article titled, “From
Walkouts, We March On,”
organizers wrote, “Comm-
unities across this country
walked out of classrooms to
send one message — Enough.
We have seen enough sense-
less gun violence; we have
lived in fear too long. We have
buried too many heroes. We
demand better.”
They said they demand that
Congress enact a “a compre-
hensive and effective bill … to
address gun issues.”
They added, “No political
agenda is more critical than
timely passage of legislation to
effectively address the gun
violence issues that are ram-
pant in our country.”
In 2014, the Center for
Community Change listed 100
years of youth-led movements
for social change, including
the most recent calls for gun
reform and immigration.
“Kids have fought and won
battles for child labor laws,
civil rights, equal access to
education and an end to segre-
gation. Today, the torch has
been passed down to youth
activists who are fighting with
everything they have,” the
group’s website said.
While the debate for gun
control continues, youth
activists will continue to be
part of the conversation.
And, Never Again MSD
organizers said, they plan to
head to the polls in the fall to
vote on issues and for politi-
cians that support school safe-
ty.
“Every kid in this country
now goes to school wondering
if this day might be their last.
We live in fear. It doesn’t have
to be this way,” March For Our
Lives
organizers
said.
“Change is coming. And it
starts now, inspired by and led
by the kids who are our hope
for the future.
“Their young voices will be
heard.”
District
Another SSD-related meet-
ing was held on Thursday
evening at the district office.
This was a public meeting
led by the district’s Special
Programs Coordinator, Lisa
Utz. The purpose of the meet-
ing was to talk with native stu-
dents and families and work to
create a Parent Committee to
oversee the Indian Education
program at the district.
According to Utz, the
process for obtaining funding
for the Indian Education pro-
gram requires the district take a
number of steps to qualify for
grant funding.
“Part of the grant process is a
public hearing, which is this
meeting tonight, in which I will
present to the community what
the grant is about,” Utz said.
“The second part of the meet-
ing will be to nominate and seat
a parent committee that will
oversee the program.”
Unfortunately, there were
only three community mem-
bers at Thursday’s meeting.
None of these attendees
were interested in serving on
the parent committee, which
left the future of the Indian
Education program up in the
air.
Utz said that she will be
working to attract students, fac-
ulty and community members
with tribal affiliations to serve
on the Parent Committee.
If Utz is unable to fill the
positions on the committee, the
district will not qualify to apply
for program funding during
this grant cycle.
from 1A
sharing with the board his
school’s mid-year grade analy-
sis.
“Overall, I am pleased to see
that a third of all grades at the
middle school are As,” Marohl
said. “That’s very encouraging
to see. What that says to me is
our kids are working hard to be
here and our teachers are work-
ing hard to meet their goals.
Things are moving in a very
positive direction.”
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Siuslaw Public Library
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March 17
Spring Mini Sign Workshop
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Reserve place at
squareup.com/store/the-wrens-nest-
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The Wren’s Nest
1732 Laurel Way, Unit B
Fun with Yoga for Vitality
10:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
A fundraiser for candidate Nora Kent
Florence Unitarian Universalist
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www.norakent.org
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Gray Whales of Oregon
Presentation by Marine Biologist
Carrie Newell
3 to 4 p.m.
Open to public
City Lights Cinemas
Leprechaun Bingo and Pie Auction
6:30 p.m. — doors open
7 p.m. — games begin
Open to public
Mapleton Lions Club
Last Resort Players present “Funny
Money”
The Improvised Game Show
7 p.m.
Tickets required
Florence Events Center
March 19
Florence Elks Lodge Fundraiser for
Mapleton Food Share
11:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
$15 per person + donations of food
Florence Elks Lodge
Open to public
Siuslaw Public Library
Siuslaw Public Library Board
Meeting
1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Open to public
Siuslaw Public Library
March 21
The Commanders — Jazz Ensemble
7 to 9 p.m.
Free admission — tickets required
Florence Events Center
Pub Talks — a new, monthly busi-
ness workshop
How to make more money through
revenue, profitability and investments
3 to 5 p.m.
Open to public
LCC Florence Center
3149 Oak St.
March 20
March 23
Us TOO Florence Prostate Cancer
Support Group
With Dr. Roger McKimmy
Noon to 1 p.m.
Open to public
Ichiban Restaurant
541-999-4239
Siuslaw Diabetes/Pre-diabetes
Support Group
2 p.m.
Newport Symphony Orchestra
Presented by SEAcoast Entertainment
7 p.m. — preconcert talk
7:30 p.m. — concert
Tickets required
Florence Events Center
March 24
Spring Oregon Beach Cleanup
Oregon Coast
solveoregon.org
541-997-5691
541-361-9080
jmirvis@charter.net
Florence, Oregon
March 24 and 25
Last Resort Players present “BOATS
— Based on a True Story”
7 p.m. Saturday
2 p.m. Sunday
Tickets required
Florence Events Center
www.lastresortboats.com
March 24 to 31
Whale Watching Week
Oregon Coast
whalespoken.wordpress.com/
Visit rivercal.org for
more calendar events.
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March For Our Lives
12:30 p.m.
Open to public and those who wish to
“march in solidarity with students
across the country for commonsense
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