‘We were walking to stand against school violence’

Three Yorkville High School students involved in the March 14 walkout event at the school say the event was a student-led effort to bring awareness about school violence.

The walkout was one of several at schools throughout the country on that day, marking one month since the Parkland, Florida, school shootings on Feb. 14 where 17 people were killed. The event included a recognition of those killed in the shootings.

Ethan Irvine, 18 and a YHS senior, said he was one of the organizers of the event and that students led the event with some collaboration from teachers. The students involved in the organization were selected by teachers based on the teachers’ recommendations, he said.

“This was an opportunity given to us by the district, it was student-led and was full of ideas that students and teachers collaboratively came up with,” Irvine said in an email interview.

Irvine said he understood that some students who declined to participate in the event did so because they don’t support more restrictive gun laws. However, he said that while that was an issue in the nationwide walkouts, the group did not want to make a political statement, but send an anti-violence message.

“[Guns were] the issue, so many thought that that was our point to prove,” Irvine said. “We, as a group, decided that no political [statements would] be made. The words gun and shooting were left out of the walkout completely. We were walking to stand against school violence and only school violence.”

Alexis Nelson, 14 and a freshman, said she and her fellow students worked for two weeks on the event, meeting early in the morning before school to plan. Like Irvine, she said the focus on the walkout was prevention of school violence. She said those participating and not participating in the walkout supported one another.

“The walkout was trying to send the message that school violence is a real threat and that we can take steps to prevent it,” Nelson said. “It was also a time of remembrance for the lives lost due to school violence. The walkout, to me, meant change. It meant we are finally bringing awareness to an actual topic that schools are faced with present day, and that we are finally taking our first big steps as a community to stop it. It was also meaningful in the way that nearly the entire high school came together, whether participating or not, they respected and empathized with one another.”

Ethan Castilla, 14 and a freshman, said the walkout had “no political stance.”

“It was an awareness walkout to show how significant school violence is,” he said.

Castilla said the walkout was just a start of students getting involved in the issue.

“By no means are we done trying to make a difference,” he said. “This was just a start to a greater end picture of trying to make our schools safer. I will tell you that we will not stand silent. The walkout was quite significant to me as I feel our society and world is falling apart with these constant senseless acts of violence. I cannot even begin to understand how parents of those affected are feeling but I feel ... the walkout here at Yorkville allowed us to really open kids’ eyes and understand what our world has come to.”

Castilla said the students want to prevent such violence from happening and are looking out for classmates’ emotional states.

“Here at Yorkville it’s more about what can we students do to help prevent something like this from happening, such as looking out for our fellow classmates in their emotional state and creating a more positive school environment,” he said.

Nelson also said the students were being kinder to one another after the walkout.

“When the walkout occurred, I saw people who were impacted by what was organized that wanted there to be a change,” she said. “I watched as these people started spreading word about their fears of what could be at our high school. I watched as these students started talking with their peers and deciding enough is enough. Since the walkout I have noticed a very prevalent change in the behavior of most of the student body. Many have been kinder and more respectful towards their classmates and teachers.”

Castilla said he was proud of the school administration for supporting the event and thanked his fellow students for “coming together.”

“I am proud that our staff and admin here at Yorkville High School are behind us for promoting a safe school here at YHS and would like to say a big thank you to the students here at YHS for coming together as a sign of unity for an amazing peaceful walkout that made our school stronger,” he said.

Irvine said the impact of the walkout on his fellow students was clear.

“Many of the students that walked out were brought to tears or left speechless,” he said. “I think it went well, our message was made clear and people were obviously moved by it.”

Castilla said he wants to organize a group of students to take their concerns about school violence to elected officials.

“I will tell you that I personally will go further than promoting a better school environment here at my school,” he said. “I am currently working on finding a group of devoted students such as myself that would like to contact political officials and create and think of more ways we can prevent something like this from ever happening again.”