Four hundred.

That is the number of students that walked out of class on March 14 at NAI alone. Students walked out to protest gun violence in schools and honor the people that lost their lives in the MSD school shooting.

Walkouts occurred all over the country, most at 10 a.m. According to USA today students from over 2,800 schools nationwide walked out on Wednesday. The exact reasons for the protests varied from school to school, but everyone had the same basic motive: enough is enough.

NASH also had a walkout with 200 around participating students, and even got the chance to be featured on CNN’s website, in a compilation of school walkouts. In Washington DC, people decided to put shoes on the lawn of the capitol building to symbolize the many kids that have died in recent years from school violence.

Students all around the country gave speeches at the walkouts to express their opinions.

Student Michael Soloman gives speech at the National Walkout Day rally on Capitol Hill.

Matt Post, a senior in high school, shares his opinions on gun control during the National School Walkout.

Following are some direct well thought out quotes on students opinions on the walkout:

“I feel that if we would have done the walk out a week after the event happened and it was supporting the families who lost children and relatives. I definitely would have done it. But over time I feel the meaning has changed into a protest of gun laws and reducing the amount of guns instead of just supporting the families and that was the underlying reason for the protest. I feel that this was a way to draw people that are very compassionate and use them to support something that they don’t really understand.”

-Anonymous

“The walkout seems like the only way to garner national attention at this point .Students coming together and making change id the only way to make progressive laws and prevent things that happened in to the past from happening again.”

-Margaret Fenton, 10th grade

“I am a big believer in the power of prayer. I believe that it can change the world. However, in addition to thoughts and prayers, there needs to be action. Waiting around for something to happen by itself has not proven to be and effective way to solve this problem. We are suffering because of the inaction that Congress has seemed to perfect. We want change, we need change, or lives and innocent students and staff will continue to be sacrificed because no one is willing to stand up for what is right. It does not matter what “side” you are on; what matters is that we cannot continue to watch four friends, neighbors and peers be murdered any longer. Change starts now, with us.”

-Julia Moose 10th grade