<\/p>\n
High school students across Durango participated in a national walkout Wednesday morning to remember victims of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.<\/p>\n
At Durango High School, a few students carried homemade signs decrying school violence and many remembered the loss of Francisco \u201cPaco\u201d Fernandez and Casey Marquez, the students killed in the Aztec High School shooting on Dec. 7, 2017. Some called for efforts to ban semi-automatic weapons often used in mass shootings.<\/p>\n
Lana Patterson, 16, a junior at Durango High School, said she came out for the 17-minute walkout at the football field to support the Parkland and Aztec victims and also to back some form of gun control.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Second Amendment rights give us the right to own guns, but we do not have to have military-grade weapons. And I think it\u2019s too easy for mentally unstable people to get guns too easily,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Carter Reiter, 17, DHS Student Council co-president, said she has friends on both sides of the gun-control debate, and she knew students who did not walk out because they do not agree with calls for gun control.<\/p>\n
About 300 students gathered on the football field at 10 a.m. Many held discussions in small groups, as organizers spoke briefly about the shootings in Aztec and Parkland and organized a letter-writing campaign and a voter-registration effort.<\/p>\n
Students older than 17, but who will be 18 by November\u2019s General Election, were able to register to vote. Some wrote letters to Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation to ask for more legislation to protect schools and to restrict sales of semi-automatic weapons.<\/p>\n
DHS students gathered in a circle in the center of the field as each name of those killed in Parkland and Aztec was read aloud followed by a moment of silence to honor them.<\/p>\n
The nationwide walkout was largely organized on social media, with organization offered by the Women\u2019s March Youth Empower.<\/p>\n
Lily Smith, 14, a freshmen at DHS, said it was right for students to walk out to show support for political action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aren\u2019t seeing a lot of action from adults. Maybe the stance that kids take can help make something happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
About 20 students walked out of Big Picture High School, roughly one-fifth of the school, to gather for about 17 minutes in Buckley Park. They mostly talked among themselves; there were no speeches and no moment of silence.<\/p>\n
Many students wore orange ribbons in honor of Fernandez and Marquez.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was way too close to home,\u201d said Fiona Rodebaugh, 18, a senior who helped organize the walkout. \u201cTo have a shooting that killed two students right there \u2013 it should be a wakeup call to the politicians here, to the school board here, but we don\u2019t see change. We don\u2019t see anything changing anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most high school students are not old enough to vote, but their opinions still matter, she said.<\/p>\n
Rodebaugh said she does not oppose gun ownership \u2013 \u201cThat\u2019s part of being an American,\u201d she said \u2013 but adults should be able to have a commonsense conversation about gun safety and gun legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see the adults be adults and not act like they\u2019re trying to take away the Second Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 100 students walked out at Animas High School. Students huddled in the parking lot around a painting of a rose for 17 minutes of silence.<\/p>\n
They bowed their heads as another student read aloud the names of each victim. Some students were wiping away tears and hugging one another.<\/p>\n
Some students said they are not convinced adults have their best interests in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily like our government,\u201d said Ethan Holst, a Student Council member who helped organize the walkout. \u201cThese lawmakers went to school a very long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Ava Stills said kids are taking matters into their own hands by organizing protests, and it\u2019s forcing adults to listen to their concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have to listen because our voice is growing so loud,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve got plenty to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
DHS Principal Jon Hoerl said the walkout is a part of the students\u2019 education and maturation as they enter adulthood.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big part of growing up is figuring out what to get behind and support, and to recognize and respect what others believe \u2013 to understand both sides of an argument and to present yourself in a well-articulated and well-reasoned way. That\u2019s important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ram\u00f3n Perez, 17, a senior at DHS, said the Aztec shooting motivated many students to join the walkout, and the proximity of the shooting raised awareness of the danger to students in Durango.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome say your presence won\u2019t matter, but it\u2019s not about you. It\u2019s about the numbers who come out and their devotion to the cause,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In Bayfield, about 60 Bayfield High School students silently sat in front of the school for 17 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope this will make a statement,\u201d Savannah Kaufmann told other students at the end of the remembrance.<\/p>\n
Students said they participated to make their voices heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething needs to be done,\u201d said Melissa Roberts, who sat at a table outside the school, holding hands in a circle with three other friends. \u201cStudents need to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n