Recently, young people across the nation are rising up; using their voice to create the change they want to see. Today, our Upper School students joined the March For Our Lives movement as they walked out of classrooms this morning.
Nineteen years ago, high school students in Columbine, Colorado, were massacred by a school shooting. Today the anniversary of this tragedy was marked by high schoolers walking out of their classrooms across the country at 10 a.m.
Lausanne’s walkout was completely organized by students for their classmates. The students held a program next to the Blue Heron Lake, where they showcased speeches and songs that promote change. Students were told about the walkout by other students and their teachers gave them the right to either attend or not attend. It was mind-blowing how many students and faculty walked out to support the movement and support their classmates. The Lausanne community truly came together.
Christina Frye reflects, “I hope the students gain awareness of the violence and show people that even though we are lucky here at Lausanne, others have suffered through these massacres and we should bring attention to the problem because change doesn’t come about unless people take action.”
The program the students held promoted a change for less gun violence in America. The students educated their peers about the past school shootings, such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s shooting that killed seventeen students and faculty this past February. Our students felt very passionate to mourn the loss and ignite change in our community and nation so atrocities like those in the past do not repeat themselves.
“Being a high school student, I’ve always felt very bothered by the shootings, but it only made me feel very emotional when I put it into perspective if my friends became the victims we see on the news,” Isabella Bodini says.
During the program, our students were given sticky notes and were told to write down anything they were feeling about the topic, and post the notes around the student lounge. The student lounge was covered with hundreds of sticky notes sending messages for peace and hope. Messages such as: “voice your vote” and “I’m upset that it’s still a problem” are powerful words our student wrote on notes to be displayed for each other.
Thanks to students Isabella Bodini ‘19, Marie-Pia Bonnot ‘19, Christina Frye ‘19, Lucy Callicott ‘18, Sammi Weiss ‘19, Robyn Evans ‘19, Zoe Gurney ‘19, Mackenzie Barbour ‘19, Kwame Oduro-Kusi ‘18, Jon Hamer ‘19, Carter Terry and Niresha Wanigasekara ’19. Thanks also to Lausanne's faculty and staff for their support as student organizers planned the event.
As a Lausanne community, our students are encouraged to self-reflect on how they can bring peace and comfort to not only their school, but their surrounding communities. It’s the Lausanne Way.
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In an effort to support student voice and leadership, Communications Intern and Lausanne Senior Noa Siskind '18 covered the events of the day, writing this article and acting as the Media Relations during the event.