Student Protest In Wake Of MSD Shooting

Desley Perez, Editor

Sickened by yet another school shooting, South Broward students took matters into their own hands and organized a school walkout to call for more gun control in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting.

Around 7:30 a.m., about 20 students gathered on the west side of the school building on Federal Highway waving  posters and chanting, “Enough is enough” “Guns have safety, where’s our safety” and “The NRA is not okay.” What started out as a small protest grew within the hour and dozens of more students joined.

“We have become so decienstified to all these school shootings,” said a angry student protestor.  “You think how sad, another one, but the Stoneman Douglas one was in our own community and it’s up to us to do something bout it.”

On coming traffic on Federal Highway honked their horns and waved their hands, encouraging students and showing there support for the movement. Parents of protesters brought chips, cookie, and cases of water, supporting the youth in a act of kindness.

Many students had personal relationships with the victims and witnesses at Stoneman Douglas leaving this tragic event devastating and affecting many.

“I lost a friend from middle school and its sad that I have hear about her years later, and it’s on a list of victims of one of the worst school shootings.” said a angry protester.

The Valentine’s Day shooting hit South Broward very hard, as one of the victims was a past athletic director and a amazing hard working coach, Chris Hixon. He was also the husband of Director of the Cambridge Program and long-time SBHS employee Debrah Hixon.

The students, dedicated to their cause,  stood in the blazing sun for hours, voicing their opinions and demanding change, finally wrapping up around 4:30 p.m.

SBHS ninth grader, Valentina Nazzar commented at the end of the protest,

“Us the people have the power, and we will make a difference, this will not happen in our home ever again.”