Hundreds of Colorado Springs students "walk out" in protest of gun violence
Hundreds of students across several school districts in the Colorado Springs area walked out of class on Wednesday, the one-month anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 staff and students dead.
The Women’s March Youth EMPOWER group, an offshoot of the progressive Women’s March, which advocates for rights of women, immigrants, health care users and others, issued the March 14 call to action.
At 10 a.m. in every time zone, students and other supporters at Palmer and Coronado high schools in Colorado Springs walked out for 17 minutes, symbolizing one minute for each person killed during the Florida mass shooting.
The protest, according to organizers, is aimed at legislators and calls for gun-reform policies.
“Enough is enough. We want to make our voices heard,” said Maya Berry, who’s organizing the event for students at Palmer High School in downtown Colorado Springs.
Some 200 students are expected to gather on the sidewalks around Palmer’s main school building at Nevada and Platte avenues.
During the event at Coronado, the names of the 17 students and staff killed in Florida last month will be read, and speakers are planned. Students will be offered signs, voter registration information and how to contact state and national legislators.
Students at Rampart High in Academy School District 20 and Cheyenne Mountain High in Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 also are planning walkouts.


