Enough: Students Walk Out In National Protest

Students are pictured Wednesday morning outside Huntington High School, one of several area schools whose students joined the #Enough National School Walkout in honor of the 17 killed in the Parkland, Florida school shooting last month, and as a cry for gun reform. Photo courtesy of Jeff ONeill

By Haley Pereyo
info@longislandergroup.com

Students from across Huntington joined a national movement Wednesday, one month after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting killed 17, in memory of the victims, and as a call for change.

Student-led walkouts unfolded at high schools across Long Island, including at Commack, Half Hollow Hills East and West, Huntington, Northport and St. Anthony’s; the nation; and other parts of the world.

In Commack, hundreds of students walked out of classrooms and onto the turf field outside of the high school.

There, many with orange balloons in one hand, and pictures of the victims in the other, students stood for 17 minutes to honor the 17 victims of the mass school shooting — including 14-year-old Jamie Guttenberg, whose family has roots on the East Northport and Commack areas; and 35-year-old Scott Beigel, who grew up in Dix Hills.

The Commack campus was closed for an hour from 9:40-10:40 a.m. during what district officials described as a “silent memorial walk.”

Rachel Cole, a Commack senior and one of the organizers of the walkout, said Wednesday afternoon that she wanted the movement to promote safety and honor the victims.

“Enough is enough when it comes to not having enough gun control,” she said.

From the sidewalk outside the campus stood Dean Nichol, a 1982 graduate of the school.

Nichol, of East Northport, delivered 17 orange balloons to students participating in the walkout. He said he’s familiar with the family of Jamie Guttenberg, whose father, Fred Guttenberg, grew up in East Northport and graduated from Commack.

Other local schools also participated in the walkout movement, including the alma mater of Scott Beigel, Half Hollow Hills High School East.

Beigel, for whom a memorial vigil was scheduled to be held Wednesday night in Huntington, taught geography and coached the cross-country team at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Hills West senior Quinn Pearson, an editor for the school’s newspaper, penned a commentary on the walkout movement earlier this week.

“This walkout in particular not only represents a political change, but a humanitarian movement,” Pearson wrote. “During this walkout, recognize that our society has created the very monster harming us, recognize that we are all part of the problem, and recognize we all have the power to fix it.”

Half Hollow Hills Superintendent Dr. Patrick Harrigan commented on the protests in a statement emailed Wednesday, “We respect the right of our students to advocate for causes that are important to them and appreciate the way our students conducted themselves while allowing their civic voices to be heard.”

Huntington High School Principal Brendan Cusack issued a similar statement prior to Wednesday.

In a letter, he said, “While a school may not endorse a walkout, Huntington High School respects our students’ Constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”

Around 400 students participated in the walkout at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington. Administration and faculty accompanied students outside to ensure their safety.

“Once students arrived at their destination outside the school, one of our Franciscan Brothers led the students in a special Franciscan prayer against violence, and also read the names of the 17 victims from the Florida shooting,” Assistant Principal Christina Buehler said in a statement emailed Wednesday.

Buehler added that St. Anthony’s staff has stayed neutral on the issues of gun control and the walkout itself, and did not encourage or discourage students from participating in the movement.

Back in Commack, Pastor Roslyn Lee of the Commack United Methodist Church ventured out on a “prayer drive” to visit local schools attended by members of her youth group.

“For me, it’s not about a single political affiliation or agenda. It’s more a presence of prayer and concern for our community,” Lee said. She added that she is “more hopeful than ever” for change led by this generation of students.

Hero Honored Back Home

Scott Beigel, a Dix Hills native, gave his life protecting his students during the Feb. 14 Florida school shooting. One month later, back home in Huntington, Beigel was remembered during a candlelight vigil. Pictured during the vigil, when a sign for the soon-to-be dedicated “Scott J. Beigel Way” was unveiled. Pictured, from left, are: Supervisor Chad Lupinacci and Scott’s immediate family, mother Linda Beigel Schulman, sister Melissa Zech and father Michael Schulman. Photo/Town of Huntington