Submitted by Lopez Island Student Council

March 14 marks the one month anniversary of the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. According to EveryTown, there have been 17 school shootings already in 2018, and 290 since 2013, ranging from mass shootings to suicides committed in school. These numbers are going to continue to rise unless we, the students of America, make a stand.

The Student Council of Lopez Island Secondary School has decided to participate in the national walkout taking place Wednesday, March 14 at 10 a.m. There will be 17 minutes of silence to honor the 17 murdered in the Parkland shooting and to show that our student body is aware of the national issue at hand. The public is welcome to participate, as long as they respect our silence.

We are sending our thoughts and wishes to all the victims, but we acknowledge that thinking and wishing, alone, will never be enough to prevent this from happening again. We will no longer stand by while staff and students are murdered in schools. Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the shooting in Parkland said, “[…] we are speaking up for those who don’t have anyone listening to them, for those who can’t talk about it just yet, and for those who will never speak again.”