On Wednesday, Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus joined high schools across the nation in an organized school walk-out to honor the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl. The walk-out is an effort to not only remember those who died, but also to push for better safety measures in schools.

DPAC seniors Diamond Lockhart, Jazzmine Pitts, DeWayne McCoy, De’Poores Preston, Malik Harper, and Aremy Tirado planned the event for two weeks. The scholars coordinated every aspect of the walk-out, from messaging to security and the schedule.

Taylor Simpson, who teaches Government, said the scholars understood that they have a platform that shouldn’t be wasted and the importance of ensuring they stood in unification with their peers.

“They want to ensure their voice doesn’t go unheard,” Mr. Simpson said. “They understand their role and that their voice is powerful.”

The morning of the walk-out, DPAC HS scholars grades 9-12 who chose to participate in the event were led outside. The names of each of the 17 shooting victims were read aloud. After each name, staff and scholars responded, “We will remember,” and an orange balloon was released in their honor.

Scholars chose the color orange in solidarity with the anti-gun violence organization WearOrange.org. Each balloon released during the walk-out contained a card with information about one of the Parkland shooting victims.

Malik Harper, who helped plan the event, reflected on the success of the walk-out.

“It was an excellent opportunity for the high school seniors to organize a program that was important to them,” Harper said. “The school came together to help support us.”

Mr. Simpson was incredibly proud of his scholars for the work they did to make the walk-out such a success. He hopes the students learned a valuable lesson about working together and demanding change.

“The scholars had a plan, and they saw it through. They were able to get their message out there and share their vision proudly.”