Local students take part in national school walkout
When the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school happened one month ago, it hit home for a lot of students around the country.
Today, a large number of students in all three Coachella Valley school districts walked-out for peaceful memorials to remember, reflect, and protest.
Silent and somber students stood in solidarity at Cathedral City High School. 17 minutes, 17 desks with 17 balloons all for the 17 lives lost in Florida one month ago.
“They had plans to be anything that they wanted to be. and because that happened, they won’t have that,” said Daniela Banderas, a sophomore at CCHS. “We’re here just to honor those students because no one should ever be afraid to go to school and thinking if I’m going to be the next victim.”
At the of each of desk, there was a flower, a picture, and a biography of each of the 17 people who lost their lives one month ago.
“The reason we used desks was because it kind of hits home. Just because they were students, they did go to school. It was another average day,” said Alma Diaz DeLeon, a senior at CCHS.
A balloon was released into the sky every minute for 17 minutes.
“Every time I cut the balloon, I just remembered, they were students and it could happen to anyone of us,” said Lida Nguyen, a junior at CCHS. “The fact that it had to happen to them, and that they were only high schoolers, and there were 17 of them, not only did it break my heart, but it really opened my eyes to what’s happening out in the real world.”
Over in the east valley, La Quinta and Coachella Valley students took part in similar memorials raised their voices with love and support.
“To hear that groups of friends died, and were murdered together, it hurts because it’s heartbreaking to know that students my age, students younger than me, had to go through this,” said Angie Soria, a senior at La Quinta High School.
“We want to let our students know that we do care. and that we’re not going to tolerate this any longer,” said Jaymee Martinez, a sophomore at Coachella Valley High School.
Students also protested gun violence at today’s walkout, you can read more about that here.
