School Walkout: Oak Forest Students Form '17' To Honor Victims

OAK FOREST, IL — Hundreds of students at Oak Forest High School particpated in the national school walkout Wednesday morning to mark the anniversary of last month's Parkland, Florida, shooting and to call for stronger gun laws. Around 300 to 400 students held signs — some with the slogan "Never Again" on them — as they formed a "17" in honor of the victims of the Feb. 14 massacre on the school's football field.

"Almost all of the organizers are in marching band, so they know the field pretty well," said Amy Oberhart, a 16-year-old sophomore who worked with seven other Oak Forest students to organize the local walkout. "At the beginning of the school year, we did spelled 'OFHS' and 'Bengals,' so we wanted to incorporate that idea again."

Like many of the school walkouts around the country, Oak Forest's demonstration began at 10 a.m. as participants marched from their classes and outside to the football field. Once there, the students not only formed the "17," but they also observed 17 minutes of silence, a minute of silence for each of the victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"Everyone was silent while we asked them to be silent," Oberhart said. "People brought signs, they wanted to be there. Towards the end we had kids write on posters what they wanted to change in the school or state or nation."

Doing something to in the wake of the Parkland shooting was an idea that hung in the back of Oberhart's mind for days after the tragedy. But it was her uncommon reaction to a common sound that spurred her to action.

"I remember a few days after the shooting, there was a fire alarm, and I started to freak out, because I heard that that’s what the shooter in Parkland did to get people out of their classes, and I knew I shouldn’t have to be afraid of a fire alarm," she said. "That’s when I decided I wanted to do something."

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Oberhart and a group of girls who also felt compelled to make a statement got together to organize the walkout. They kicked around ideas, spoke with administrators to get approval and held informational meetings.

"Officially it wasn’t a protest," she said.

Bremen Community High School District 228 Supt. Bill Kendall called the walkouts at all of the school system's four campuses — which also included Tinley Park High School — "respectful and organized." He also characterized the demonstrations as "a teachable moment for everyone."

"We want to respect our students," Kendall said. "The choice to participate or not was respected for all students."

For Oberhart, the feeling of being out on the field Wednesday for the walkout was amazing.

"I’ve attended a few marches before, but this felt different," she said. "There were hundreds of kids, some the same age of children who were killed. People kept saying, 'They’re just going to get out of class,” but you could tell that that’s not why these kids were out here."

Hundreds of Oak Forest High School students participated in a national school walkout Wednesday, March 14, to honor the victims of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. (Photos by Amy Oberhart)