For our schools, In our streets

Students took to the streets of Chicago to protest in solidarity with students nationwide as they ask for an end to gun violence

Students took to the streets of Chicago to protest in solidarity with students nationwide as they ask for an end to gun violence

Students took to the streets of Chicago to protest in solidarity with students nationwide as they ask for an end to gun violence

Student signs plead for their lives, urging for gun control so that we put down the guns and spread the love.

Student signs plead for their lives, urging for gun control so that we put down the guns and spread the love.

Student signs plead for their lives, urging for gun control so that we put down the guns and spread the love.

19 years after the Columbine shooting, students are fed up that their schools still aren’t safe.

Students are escorted by a convoy of police as they make their way from Grant Park to the Federal Plaza.

Students swarm the streets in orange shirts and bandanas to show their resistance against gun violence and call for better gun control.

Students swarm the streets in orange shirts and bandanas to show their resistance against gun violence and call for better gun control.

Students want more than just visibility. They are hoping to reach lawmakers and make effective change in government too.

Students want more than just visibility. They are hoping to reach lawmakers and make effective change in government too.

Students want more than just visibility. They are hoping to reach lawmakers and make effective change in government too.

Other members of Chicago Student Walkout: Richard Alvarez (Walter Payton College Prep) , Gage Gerding, Esther O’Leary (Walter Payton College Prep), and Grace Conrad.

Other members of Chicago Student Walkout: Richard Alvarez (Walter Payton College Prep) , Gage Gerding, Esther O’Leary (Walter Payton College Prep), and Grace Conrad.

Other members of Chicago Student Walkout: Richard Alvarez (Walter Payton College Prep) , Gage Gerding, Esther O’Leary (Walter Payton College Prep), and Grace Conrad.

Jesenia Pulgarin (Von Steuben Metropolitan HS): “The reason that I decided to come out here is because of the injustice and many innocent lives being lost because of guns. Our school principle was very supportive of this.”

Jesenia Pulgarin (Von Steuben Metropolitan HS): “The reason that I decided to come out here is because of the injustice and many innocent lives being lost because of guns. Our school principle was very supportive of this.”

Genesis Del Real (Jones College Prep) was filled with emotion as she addressed her peers about the pains of living in fear in spaces where they should feel safe.

Genesis Del Real (Jones College Prep) was filled with emotion as she addressed her peers about the pains of living in fear in spaces where they should feel safe.

	By Arlana Shikongo, Education and Youth Editor, The Chi

On April 20, students around the nation staged School Walkouts to protest gun violence and for increased gun control. They chose this day because it marked the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting massacre of 1999.

Students have vehemently been protesting for increased gun control since the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla.,  shooting that left 17 dead. They’re saying “enough is enough”, and for students in Chicago, that extends beyond just gun violence.

After walking out of their respective schools, students swarmed to Grant Park and after chanting and sharing their poems and stories, were escorted to the Federal Plaza by a convoy of police.

As they walked, their path was lit with a roaring sea of orange as many students donned orange shirts and bandanas. Students were clad in orange attire because in 2013 the color was adopted to show resistance against gun violence across the country following the shooting of Hadiya Pendleton, age 15, in Chicago.  

“We were upset about the way our last walkout was handled, specifically how it failed to touch on the gun violence that occurs so close to home,” explained Rebecca Gross, a freshman at Francis W. Parker High School. She is one of the leaders of Chicago Student Walkout, a group made up of Chicago students who decided to unite in order to organize effectively, “be heard and get things done regarding lawmaking and the government”, Gross explained.

Student organizers said that this is not the last walkout they plan on having, and the ultimate goal is to see actual policy change take effect.