COMMUNITIES

March 14 student walkout: How Rochester's students are responding

Lauren Peace Meghan Finnerty
Democrat and Chronicle

Exactly one month after a devastating shooting took the lives of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 in Parkland, Florida, students at schools across the county, state and nation will join together in efforts to remember and honor the victims, and to stand in solidarity with survivors working to enact change to make schools safer.

Students from several Monroe County schools, including Brighton High School, Aquinas Institute, and School of the Arts, will participate in nationally organized walkouts, exiting their buildings from approximately 10 a.m. to 10:17 a.m. to call for gun control legislation and shed greater light on the issue of gun violence. Students who don't wish to participate in the walkouts will be able to continue regular school activities.

While students have planned to walk out of schools across the country for weeks, in Rochester the weather might intervene. The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a winter weather advisory through 6 a.m. Thursday,  Monroe County is expected to get 6 to 12 inches of snow.

“The School of the Arts student body is an incredibly unified community, and we really support each other and support this political movement, and were really invested in that,” said Grace Myers, a senior, who organized the student-led walkout.

She said she's not worried about the snow. She expects her fellow students to “gather no matter what because they are truly passionate about the issues.”

Brighton Central School District Superintendent Kevin McGowan

“This definitely isn’t a movement against the Second Amendment, I think this movement is about bringing the Second Amendment more collaboratively into contemporary society,” Myers said.

Brighton schools Superintendent Kevin McGowan called students "engaged, bright, thoughtful and passionate," and said that the goal of the school district is to support them as educators.

"We are so proud of our students," McGowan said in a press release. "Whatever your perspectives are on the politics of these situations, we can all celebrate the fact that students are speaking out and engaging in such meaningful civil discourse."

But much like past demonstrations, plans to walk out have not gone uncontested.

In several districts, student safety remains a central concern and a point of opposition regarding the national walkout.

Some schools are working with local police departments to ensure a strong presence while students are outside, but others are discouraging students from leaving the building at all.

Michael Pero

In Pittsford, schools Superintendent Michael Pero said that he has spent the weeks following the shooting concentrating primarily on how to best keep students safe, but that he recognizes the importance of their voices.

In a video message March 4, Pero said he was still working with students to find a way for them to be heard.

"You have grown up in an era that has seen tragedies unfold in Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook  and now Parkland, Florida. These are tragedies that no other American generation had to worry about," Pero said. "I am saddened that this is something you have to witness, process and endure. I also want to let you know that I am so proud of your response to this tragedy. You’re finding your voice and you are acting to make a positive change."

He went on to say that students have expressed a broad spectrum of thoughts, "ranging from wanting to support this organization's walkout, to experiencing anxiety about the walkout, to worrying that their peers might think less of them if they want to stay in class, to worrying that their peers might think less of them if they walk out of class.

"The consistent themes, however, that I’ve heard from you are your desires to keep schools safe, and to express empathy for all who were involved in the Parkland tragedy," he said.

A promotional illustration for a rally against gun violence planned for Rochester in response to the Florida school shooting on Feb 14. This event will coincide with an event in Washington, D.C.

In a letter March 12, Pero said that he had since met with about 200 students who shared their ideas. He then highlighted student-led activities that will take place March 14 across the various school levels.

In Pittsford elementary schools, the day will remain a normal school day, but an additional emphasis will be placed on empathy and kindness, while Pittsford middle school students will work to "discuss and determine 17 actionable acts of kindness they can each commit to as a remembrance for the 17 victims of Parkland."

In Pittsford high schools, students will be permitted to leave classes Wednesday, but only with parental permission. If a student leaves without that, normal code of conduct and attendance policy will apply.

Jori Cincotta, a Pittsford parent who’s involved with her regional and local PTA, said that she had discussed the planned activities with her child. Her ninth-grade daughter asked for permission to walk out of class, but she had to make her case.

“There was some really good back and forth,” Cincotta said, “ I certainly played a lot of devil's advocate roles there and did not necessarily point her in either direction, but really kind of made her think through why did she feel strongly about this.”

Before any official plans were announced by the district, 15-year-old Anne Olivia Cincotta was unsure about the walkout.

“Me just being a freshman, I was kind of still unsure,” she said, adding that she was waiting to hear from teachers, administrators and “what my mom wanted me to do.”

But in the end, her mom declared it was her choice to make.

“I felt that I wanted to walk out,” she said. “What I needed to do was give a reasonable example, why we should be allowed to (walk out).”

Anne Oliva thinks teens deserve a seat at the table when topics involve their future.

"We’re the future and if teens are not included in the talk about the future, then it’s going to get really messy," she added.

Alternatives offered

The Penfield Central School District is similarly offering students an alternative to exiting the building, encouraging students and staff members to wear red or Penfield attire to demonstrate unity as a school community.

At Bay Trail Middle School, a moment of silence will take place at 10 a.m., followed by a 17-minute period in which students will have the option to participate in a variety of activities, ranging from a making a list of 17 acts of kindness to signing up for a letter-writing workshop at a later date to express concerns to elected officials.

Penfield High School will operate on a modified schedule to avoid a loss in instruction time while allowing students time to participate in a walkout as well as activities including composing letters to their elected representatives.

At Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas high schools, students are being given the option to participate in student-led forums that will begin around 10 a.m. During the forums, which will be held inside enclosed school property, different students will read the names of the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting.

Students at Hope Hall School in Gates will hold a remembrance ceremony for victims, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the gymnasium.

On Tuesday morning, Fairport schools Superintendent Brett Provenzano sent out a letter to parents and guardians stating that optional activities will take place inside Fairport schools.

Brett Provenzano

"This tragedy, coupled with the range of emotions inherent in this topic, has placed our schools in unique positions," he wrote. "Given the gravity of this national current event, we have an obligation to listen to our students and respond in an even-keeled, responsible and supportive manner. The compassion for the greater good of society and the advocacy demonstrated by our students has been inspiring."

Fairport High School is expecting more than 450 students to participate in student-led events, he wrote.

"As a public entity, we understand that all students will not have the same opinions. We will not politicize or advocate for any side of this issue, nor will there be anyone forced to participate or not to participate in the day’s activities," said Provenzano.

Laurel Heiden, a district spokesperson for Greece schools, said that each of the Greece Central School District’s four high schools have created optional activities that will allow students to have their voices heard in a safe, supported environment 

“At Odyssey Academy, students choosing to participate in the walkout will leave class at 9:58 a.m. and go to the gym,” she said.

The optional assembly that ends at 10:15 a.m. is by students, for students, as are other activities taking place across Monroe County schools.

Universities engage

While the March 14 walkout is being led primarily by high school students, people at local universities are joining in.

More than 40 faculty and staff from Rochester Institute of Technology's College of Liberal Arts sent out a letter to students in February expressing support for student gun-control activists.

"As educators, our responsibility is first to our students and second to the democratic institutions that depend on a well-educated, well-informed and politically engaged citizenry. We can no better fulfill this dual responsibility than by supporting our students as they organize to effect social change," the statement reads. "In the days following the massacre at their school, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas have become the face of this generation, and they have demonstrated that they are unafraid to lead."

It goes on to pledge support to any student, current or future, who may wish to partake in any peaceful demonstration, including that on March 14.

At the University of Rochester Medical School, students, residents and hospital workers have planned a walkout outside Golisano Children's Hospital between 10 and 10:17 a.m. for 17 minutes of silence.

University of Rochester medical students will walk out on March 14 to remember the victims of the Parkland shooting and to show support for student advocates across the country.

Alexi Bulloch, a second-year internal medicine and pediatrics resident, is working to organize the event. Bulloch said that she heard about activities involving students at the World of Inquiry School No. 58 as well as other schools in the state and nation, and wanted healthcare professionals to have a way to show their support.

"I was just very proud of the students’ response to this issue and the efforts that they’ve been going through to voice their own opinions and stand up for their own health and safety," said Bulloch. "Gun violence is a public health issue, and as medical students, faculty, residents and nurses, many of us feel strongly that as health care providers, it is something that we should support."

LPEACE@Gannett.com

MEFINNERTY@Gannett.com