NYC Students Join National Walkout On Columbine Anniversary

NEW YORK, NY — New York City students walked out of school Friday to call for stricter gun-control laws, joining the second such nationwide protest in as many months. Schools across the nation participated in the walkout on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, with some joining protests at statehouses and the U.S. Capitol.

Hundreds gathered in Washington Square Park for a noon rally calling on lawmakers to pass stronger gun regulations. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, reinvigorated a push for such laws after Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people there on Feb. 14.

"Our generation will be the last. We will be the students to end gun violence because we are everywhere and we aren’t going anywhere," Arielle Geismar, a 16-year-old junior at The Beacon School, told the crowd.

"If we’re old enough to be affected by gun violence then we’re damn well sure we’re old enough to have an opinion about it," she added.

In New York, Friday's protests were smaller than the March 14 walkouts that drew 100,000 students. But they were among more than 2,700 events scheduled to happen across all 50 states.

Students at Washington Square held signs with phrases like "Guns are dumb" and "We call BS" as speakers addressed the crowd. Some wore orange armbands to promote awareness of gun violence.

Isabelle Robinson, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, called for "common sense gun reform" policies such as longer waiting periods, stronger background checks and a ban on "high-velocity" assault weapons for the general public.

In just a few years, she noted, scores of students now protesting will be able to vote — and won't hesitate to vote out lawmakers who stand in their way.

"Read my lips, elected officials: We will never forget," Robinson said.

Amalia Fernand was a senior at Columbine High School when 13 people were killed there in the infamous 1999 massacre. She said the Parkland students' activism inspired her to talk about the shooting publicly for the second time ever at Friday's rally.

Seeing such broad support means a lot to survivors of gun violence who still bear its scars like Fernand and her little sister, who was also at Columbine that day, she said.

"The nightmare and the survivor's guilt will never go away," Fernand told the crowd.

New York City students protested despite schools Chancellor Richard Carranza discouraging their participation. The Department of Education said students who weren't in school Friday would be marked absent.

But some Democratic elected officials joined the cause anyway, including U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, City Councilman Keith Powers and Councilman Brad Lander, whose daughter was in the crowd.

Jonathan Laraque-Ho, a senior at Bard High School Early College, said the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice didn't have such institutional support when it took off four years ago. Most of the speakers featured Friday were white, he noted.

"White privilege is present here today as well," said Laraque-Ho, 17.

Friday's rally was organized by NYC Says Enough, a coalition of students who aim to maintain the burgeoning movement for gun reform. The group plans to incorporate as a nonprofit and put added pressure on elected officials who don't support its cause, Geismar, one of its founders, has said.

Robinson had the crowd repeat the names of each person killed at her school two months ago as she recalled bits of their personalities. Helena "loved to foster stray cats." Gina was "a beloved member of the Douglas color guard." Scott "was a hero to his students that day and every day."

"Remember their names," Robinson said. "The fight has only just begun."

This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.

Ciara McCarthy and The Associated Press contributed reporting.

(Lead image: Hundreds of students rally for stronger gun laws at Washington Square Park on Friday. Photo by Ciara McCarthy/Patch)