“Walk up” makes students responsible

Recently, I walked out of my school to protest gun violence and to honor the victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Obviously, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the national walkouts. This led me to notice another movement, called “Walk Up Not Out.” This movement encourages students to talk to their peers who seem lonely or upset, instead of walking out to protest for stricter gun laws. The intentions of this movement are good, but it will not be effective to stop the shootings that are happening all over our country.

Walk Up Not Out essentially tasks students with the job of stopping school shooters from killing their peers. If someone is at the point where they are planning on shooting up a school, is it really safe for a high school student to try to be friends with them? No, at that point, the person needs much more help than what their teenage peer can provide.

Of course I believe that people should treat everybody with kindness and respect, but kindness cannot stop bullets. As students, we need laws that will make us feel safe to go to school every day.

Alisa Volz

Spokane