National Student Walkout

Toreros participate in the National Student Walkout to rally for gun control change

John McNicholas | Contributor | The USD Vista

Lilyana Espinoza | News Editor | The USD Vista

“When our communities are hurting, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” yelled students and faculty throughout Colachis Plaza last week during the National School Walkout. “Show me what democracy looks like — this is what democracy looks like!” was one of the main chants roaring among the group of protesters, while Toreros walked to their next class.

USD students rallied in Colachis Plaza in support of victims of the Florida Parkland shooting, as well as the mass shootings from the past few years. In a powerful demonstration of solidarity with students nationally affected by school shootings, Toreros  participated in the national walkout on Wednesday March 14 at 10 a.m. The event lasted for 17 minutes, one minute for every victim killed in the Parkland shooting. USD students and faculty rallied along with schools across the nation to protest Congress’ inaction toward the gun violence from the past few years.

Sophomore Elie Nyembo shared why he felt it was important he participated in the walkout and what he hoped would come out of the walkout.

“The walkout was important for me to participate in because change needs to happen regarding the second amendment,” Nyembo said. “Innocent lives were lost, and I can’t fathom how individuals put guns before the lives of others. Every time a mass shooting happens, a cycle of prayer, debates on the right to bear guns, and a lack of action of gun reform occur. Eventually the lives lost in a shooting will be forgotten after a while. Those lives mattered. They were human beings. They didn’t get a say on whether or not they got the chance to live to see another day. Their lives were stolen from them by a lead-filled metal contraption. It doesn’t make sense how schools, places of worships, and homes are places that people can no longer feel safe. Change needs to happen.”

Junior Natasha Salgado organized the walkout at USD with a small group of her close friends and spoke about why she got the sense students on campus wanted to participate in the walkout.

“A lot of students that were talking to me and that I talked to about this mentioned how there is a desire to voice ourselves a little bit more visibly onto USD’s campus,” Salgado said. “So, the reason behind the walkout was to participate and partake in the remembering of the 17 lives that were lost, but also it was meant to showcase how students at USD are active and want to be involved in the visible shaping of demonstrations and visible shaping of conversations. It was meant to call out to our administration, to our teachers, and say we are here. We want to have a conversation. We want to do something about it. Now (faculty and administration) help us take care of that and actually lead us in that direction.”

Students, faculty, and administration attended the event. Starting at the top of Colachis Plaza, the procession walked down toward the west side of campus ending at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice’s front courtyard. The names of the Parkland victims were chanted out one by one, serving as a reminder of the severity of the situation. The names of the victims were chanted and displayed on signs with their ages in bold letters. The visual of just how young these victims were demonstrated the tragedy of the massacre.

Salgado reminisced on the emotions that flowed through her during the walkout.

“There was already an overwhelming sensation of being distraught and in mourning for those 17 lives (that were lost),” Salgado said. “As we were repeating their names throughout the march it was very difficult for us to maintain our composure. Not only were we saying these names and recollecting the fact that they are no longer with us, but we were also saying them with a group of students that were in solidarity with us.”

Despite Salgado’s early estimate of about 50 people, a large turnout of more than 100 people attended to make their voices heard.

Salgado described the main reason it was important to have this walkout on USD’s campus.

“Our main intention with this was to make people feel hopeful and to make them feel that they had a voice,” Salgado said. “There is hope for us and just because we are a private institution that has this stigma that we live in our little bubble, does not mean that should be a limitation for us not to support the community around us.”

One of the main messages conveyed at  the protest was to encourage students to stay active beyond this singular event. The leaders and attendees of the walkout reminded all those present to call their local representatives and vote to enact legislation that will allow for stricter gun control. It was important to participants at this event that this not be a failed movement to reform the gun laws.

Public Safety officers and vehicles were deployed between the Immaculata Church and the KIPJ to ensure the safety of the demonstration.

Sociology professor Jessica Magellan participated in the walkout and offered her perspective on student participation in protests on campus.

“I believe it is very important for all people to be politically active in a democracy, but especially students,” Magellan said. “Students have been critical agents for change in this country for decades. I believe that part of determining your values and your voice is taking a stand on political issues. In higher learning your purpose is not just to learn and get a degree, it is also to discover who you are and what you have to contribute to our global community.”

Few events of political activism take place on USD’s campus. Because of this, some students seemed very new to the idea of a protest.  Magellan spoke about how she was happy to see the activism on USD’s campus.

“I think the students that spoke and organized the event were very informed and passionate about the issue of gun violence and student activism,” Magellan said. “It also seemed to me that the students and staff there seemed to be ‘new’ to protesting/walkouts. I get the idea that USD does not have a lot of visible activism and that is something I hope to see change in my time as a professor here.”

After the protest moved from the Immaculata to the KIPJ, Salgado offered the megaphone up to any student or faculty participant who wanted to speak. Participants voiced that gun violence and school shootings must come to an end. They stressed the importance of taking further action beyond the walk and contacting their representatives.

The walkout concluded with a moment of silence for all the victims of the Parkland shooting. It was the beginning of a movement that’s goal is to incite national change, not just end 17 minutes after the start of the walkout.

Andrew Tirrell, political science and international relations professor, said he felt proud after attending the walkout.

“(The walkout) demonstrates that we have students who are committed to using their voices and votes to make our country safer, and that is something that should make us all very proud,” Tirrell said. “More than anything, I was very proud to see so many students ensuring that their voices are heard.”

This display of activism on USD’s campus is unique and shows that students are willing to “stand up” and “fight back,” as the chants suggested. One of USD’s core values is the idea of being a “changemaker campus.” Students on this campus  appear to want change and are willing to have their voices heard in order to achieve that goal.