While Pleasant Valley students on Spring Break, the students of Davenport schools were attempting to change legislation and put an end to school shootings. On March 14 at 10 a.m. students from Davenport Central, North, West, and Assumption walked out of class. They met outside of their schools where students held signs ranging from “Because thoughts and prayers are not working,” to “their voices will be heard,” to “17” for the 17 students who were murdered in Parkland by a child who had access to one of the deadliest weapons we allow in this country. Holding signs and staying silent was not an option. The voices of the youth would be heard.

In this era of gun violence, it seems that students may be the greatest hope for change- and the students are well aware of this newfound responsibility. The walkouts were organized to a tee by students and were The students wore orange, a color that they said went beyond just uniformity. Central student Ava Soliz said, “We wore orange today because hunters wear this to avoid being shot by another. In other words, “I’m a human, not an animal. Don’t shoot.” How powerful.” The color, signs, and speeches demonstrated how powerful the students could be, especially when unified.

At West high school about 200 students gathered to protest and listen to their peers speak about gun safety and the change that their generation would bring. “The walkout today is just the beginning- just the start,” said speaker Lily Hancock. “Become a part of the change. Change starts here. Change starts with us. Change starts with you. And change starts now.” The speaker’s then led three chants. Two hundred young voices shouted in unison: “No fear here!” and “Enough is enough!” and “No more violence, end the silence!” The voices of the youth could not be silenced. Those voices rang in the ears of school boards, of news outlets, and in the capital. Their voices were heard.

The students of Davenport Central reached out to PV’s Never Again chapter in order to gain support and create the greatest impact they could. Pleasant Valley Senior Maaz Ahmed was one of the students who attended the event. “The best way I could describe it was electric,” said Ahmed, “Seeing hundreds of students flood out of the school doors and down the streets was incredible. The fuel to this movement is passion, patriotism and dedication, of which all three were very present and really filled the crowd with energy.”

Ahmed was full of passion speaking of the importance of the walkouts. “I think walkouts are incredibly important. Peaceful protest is at the heart of every social and political movement, and walkouts have a long history in America,” Ahmed continued, “This grand gesture of the student voice is what turns heads, it’s what gets people listening, and it’s how we– as a group of mainly minors who can’t vote yet– can make our voices heard. I’m not saying a couple walkouts will completely revolutionize the way the U.S. sees firearms, but it is a way to keep this conversation in the headlines. The current news cycle is so used to violence that we forget about earth-shattering stories in a matter of weeks. Walkouts, marches, protests, peaceful demonstrations: these are how we circumvent people forgetting about Florida and about this incredibly important issue. Because this problem is only growing, and the only way to spark change is to get in people’s faces. Vote.”