Thousands of students will walk out of their classes Wednesday morning, exactly one month after the fatal school shooting in Parkland, Fla., as part of a national demonstration protesting gun violence in schools.
The 17-minute protest in hundreds of schools across the country is intended to pressure Congress to pass gun control legislation less than two weeks before March 24 protests at the U.S. Capitol and elsewhere, according to the New York Times.
Students who are participating in the protest plan to walk out of their classrooms at 10 a.m. local time. Other schools and institutions who may not be participating in a walkout are observing the declared “national walkout day” in other ways, such as a moment of silence.
Some schools are accommodating the walkouts, while other feel the move runs counter to school safety goals.
A superintendent in Harford County, Md., Barbara Canava, said the protest “presents, paradoxically, a threat to student safety, as word of the walkout has been widely disseminated and students who go outside could become more vulnerable.”
Thousands are talking about “#NationalWalkoutDay” on Twitter, including those who oppose it. Many are tweeting that the move is not something schools should condone, and say a protest during the school day is not something that should be protected.
It is estimated that over 3,000 schools will participate in the walkout.
