School walkouts let students fight back

We’re just teenagers. 

We’re still a student.

Too young to vote, too young to make a difference. 

Some high school students feel they cannot make a change, turning apathetic to issues pertaining to our generation. Others are forming a new breed of young activists, fighting back a political system that needs changes. The latter is crucial; students’ political participation is essential in bettering the future; it creates more involved citizens and encourages change on the issues that matter the most. 

The week of Sept. 20 through 27, 7.6 million people participated in the Climate Strike, thousands of whom marched in Washington, D.C. For students, participating here meant walking out of their classrooms and heading out to the protest, whether it is on their own school grounds or all the way in D.C. 

By skipping their everyday classes in favor of voicing their opinions to lawmakers, students are able to show severe the climate crisis is. Though people who are too young to vote are forced to try and take their own action, it is clear that a situation that unites this many students for a common cause is severe and must be fixed. If the government is not making necessary changes, then what better group of people to encourage these changes then the upcoming generation, who will eventually become voters? 

Age does not matter in regards to politics. Whether is is the massive Climate Strike or the National School Walkout Day, which sparked over 3,100 student walkouts, youth have shown that they can take their stance. A generation of students capable of protesting in masses are passionate and ready to make changes, if only they were allowed. 

High school students are educated enough that they must be granted the right to voice their opinions. When students are barred from walking out of class for political reasons, their voices are being taken away from the government.  Because this political participation is crucial to enact change, it is of utmost importance that schools support their students in their protesting endeavors. 

Unfortunately, the reality is different. In MCPS, student walkouts often earn students unexcused absences, the opposite of what they should be receiving. Punishing students for trying to better the world only discourages beneficial protests that have the potential to change the world. On the local level, school walkouts should not be punished.

On the contrary, students should even be encouraged to participate in walkouts. Increased political participation makes students feel like their voice matters and that they can make a difference. Thousands of students walking out of class is a powerful message to the adults that rule out government. 

However, it doesn’t take a crowd to make a difference. Even a few students on a local basis can make a difference. At Clarksburg High School, the SGA sponsored a thirty minute walkout during the school day to draw graffiti with chalk in the parking lot, spreading messages about global warming in honor of the Climate strike. The event reminds students entering school of the problems in the world today that affect everyone. 

Modern America is plagued with dozens of problems, ranging from global warming to gun violence, from racism to sexism and so much more. School walkouts give students an outlet for change. If the youngest generation isn’t allowed to help solve the problems, then who will? 

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Kara Peeler of Clarksburg High School

Graphic by Nicole Fang of Richard Montgomery High School