On any given Friday during lunch, the courtyard is packed with students playing games and chatting with friends while grabbing a bit to eat. But, on Friday, September 5th, the mood was much more somber. Instead, students grabbed chalk, made ribbons or wrote letters to raise awareness in honor of children who have died by gun violence.
The event, dubbed Student Action Day, was an alternative to the national walkout protest, organized and promoted by Student Demand Action, a national youth-led gun violence prevention group.
Many counties nationwide joined this year’s walkouts at noon, Highland High School in Salt Lake City and Hamilton High School in Chandler Arizona were a few of the schools who participated in the nationwide walkout.
South Broward High School decided to take a different route to activism. The school’s Student Government Association organized a Student Action Day during both A and B lunches to which SGA President Jea’Cier said it gave students the chance to participate in the national conversation without leaving school.
“We wanted to make sure our students advocate safely and their voices are heard in the most effective way,” said Leon. “We had letters to senators, a chalk walk, and a wall where students could write their names and messages. It was about safety and efficiency.”
The protest was organized by Student Demand Action, the youth arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, a group formed after 17 six-year-olds and three teachers were gunned down in their school in Sandy Hook. The nationwide protest sought to pressure lawmakers into passing stronger gun reforms, as guns are the leading cause of deaths for children and teens in the United States for the third consecutive year according to the John Hopkins School of Public Health.
The in school event included chalk art, pledge banners, and poster making where students can write positive remarks and messages. Students also wore orange ribbons and shirts to stand in unity with the national movement against school violence.
“I think it’s important,” said eleventh grade Assistant Principal Therese Hollis. “Especially with what happened at Douglas,” said Hollis “That hit home for Florida, and even for our own community. Students need to know their voices matter, but also that they can take the extra step beyond school by reaching out to local or state officials so their concerns are truly heard.”
Several of Broward County’s community leaders also recognized the importance of student involvement. Broward County District 1 Representative Maura Bulman attended the event and applauded the demonstration of safe activism.
“The earlier students are taught to advocate for themselves, the better citizens they’ll be,” said Bulam. “I loved everything I saw today. It was peaceful, powerful, and hopefully it inspires other schools to follow South Broward’s example.”
In 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland had a mass shooting which claimed 17 lives that later changed the conversation around gun reforms in Florida. This debate over school violence remains to be the main drive on how schools in the county approach activism and safety, the rise on this issue has led to greater public focus on school safety.
After the events going on in schools across the U.S, President of the Class of 2026 Valentina Molinari said they needed to take action. “We wanted activities where students could share kind words, and remind each other that we are united, and represent hope through something positive.”
SGA members approached Principal Francois with their shared ideas on how students could participate in the walkout, without actually leaving schools. He was receptive to helping the group set up activities that would keep students safe and engaged.
“We want to make sure our kids have a voice in a positive way,” said Francois. “This is about letting the next generation of leaders share their thoughts and push for change. Enough is enough, students should focus on grades, not on whether they’ll make it home safely at night.”
“SGA came to me and wanted to come up with ideas on how we could promote this.” said Francois, “It’s another hat off to the student government for making sure their voices get heard,”
Still, there were many obstacles to overcome during both lunch periods, to monitor hallways and to discourage walkouts while the event took place.
“Not having enough personnel was tough,” explained ninth grade Assistant Principal Kaila Bergeron. “We had to make sure staff were in nearly every hallway to prevent students from leaving. It wasn’t easy, but we made it work.”
Many students felt empowered by the event, sophomore Mya Oyola said the experience made her reflect on the importance of fighting gun violence in schools.
“Honestly, it’s just a way of saying no to gun violence,” said Oyola. “A lot of schools don’t care about what happens inside, but here, everyone was participating. It shows good character and that our school wants to make a difference.”
