School Walkout Organizer, 17, Slams Congress’ Inaction on Gun Reform — ‘They Fail to Stop Atrocities’
February 20, 2018
School Walkout Organizer, 17, Slams Congress’ Inaction on Gun Reform — ‘They Fail to Stop Atrocities’
One of the student organizers of a National School Walkout, Kaleab Jegol, 17, EXCLUSIVELY told HL about what the movement hopes to achieve!
A senior at a high school in Ohio, Kaleab Jegol, who is an organizer for the first of two upcoming National School Walkouts, told us in an EXCLUSIVE interview that while he’s not a student at Parkland, this kind of violent atrocity can happen anywhere. Following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school that left 17 dead, Kaleab and several other courageous students are organizing a National School Walkout on March 14 at 10 am local time to put pressure on NRA-supporting politicians including President Donald Trump, 71, to restrict easy access to deadly guns and to end lax gun laws that allow virtually anyone to purchase automatic weapons like the deadly AR-15 rifle.
In our interview, Kaleab explains what he and the other students across are the country are doing to make a difference and why:
What was the motivation for the walk out?
“The Florida shooting proved that is no longer an option or our place to be silent or complicit. Parkland is [just like] my community, my neighborhood. It’s [like] where I live, and Wednesday’s atrocity demonstrated that this can happen anywhere, to all of us. It’s no longer an option to believe that this will never happen in my school or on my doorstep. It’s time to acknowledge that this can happen anywhere in the USA.”
What is your goal? What do you hope to achieve?
“Our goal is to protest against the inaction of congress and their failure to stop these atrocities from occurring and their inability to keep our students safe in schools. We are pushing to bring about comprehensive gun reform and prevent further massacres from occurring in the future.”
Why do you believe the movement will be able to achieve those goals?
“We are the country’s next generation of voters. We will have a voice in the voting booth, so congress has to listen to us, and has to act on our demands, or they will not get our support. The 2016 election has motivated America’s youth to get involved in politics. Young people are enraged over the current administration’s policies, policies that directly affect people of our age — and if we want change, then we have to become engaged and make our voice heard.”
In addition to the National School Walkout, which is a joint effort of students across the country and a collaboration with the Women’s March Youth Empower, there will be also be a March For Our Lives planned on March 24. In addition, there will be a second National School Walkout planned for April 20, 2018, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. Women’s March shared a statement from youth organizers of both school walk outs, which reads as follows:
“We, the youth organizers of the March 14th Women’s March Youth Empower Walkout and the student-founded National School Walkout movement on April 20th support all efforts to raise awareness of gun violence through student action. The March 14th walkout commemorates the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting, and the 17 minutes will memorialize the 17 lives lost in the tragedy. This event is part of an escalating force in a longer fight against gun violence. The April 20th walkout commemorates the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting and will last for the entire school day. This is a day for students to have a voice and be represented. This will further amplify students’ commitment to action until Congress enacts legislative change. It will take sustained action from students across the country to send a strong message to our elected officials that we want to be safe, particularly in our schools. Please join us in supporting and participating in both student walkouts, the March for Our Lives and all student-led advocacy efforts that continue the fight for our safety.”
We are all one movement. @schoolwalkoutUS @AMarch4OurLives #NationalSchoolWalkout #MarchForOurLives #ENOUGH pic.twitter.com/LiZeuwKADD
— Women's March Youth (@WomensMarchY) February 19, 2018
HollywoodLifers, do you know of anyone participating in the National School Walkout movement? Let us know in the comment section below.