Blizzard Delays Belmont High Students ‘Enough’ School Walkout To March 21

Photo: Poster image.

Tuesday’s blizzard has placed a hold on town high schoolers joining fellow students from across the country on Wednesday to collectively say “enough is enough.”

According to the local student campaigners, nearly two feet of snow and the cancelation of schools on Wednesday will delay by a week Belmont High School’s participation in “ENOUGH: National School Walkout” by a week.

“Some … will go to the [Massachusetts] statehouse, but the walkout will be postponed until [Wednesday] March 21,” said Belmont High School senior Seneca Hart, who with Lydia Fick, Georgia Sundahl, and Gayané Kaligian is organizing the Belmont action.

The walkout – conceived and promoted by EMPOWER, the youth branch of the Woman’s March – will take place across the country on Wednesday, March 14, at 10 a.m. and last for 17 minutes to honor the students and teachers murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School exactly one month since the crime.

When Hart – who is also the student liaison to the Belmont Human Rights Commission – first heard of the walkout, she felt Belmont High students should participate in the action happening.

“I used the Action Network to see if there was an event at my school because I knew I wanted to participate, but there wasn’t yet one. I saw a need and I filled it because this movement is important to me, and more than that, it’s really empowering students across America,” said Hart.

The senior believes the time is now for teenagers and students to speak up on the issue of gun violence and safety at school.

“So often we’re dismissed because of our age, and this is the first time a lot of us feel like we can finally prove we’re serious about change and know what we’re talking about,” she said

Hart said she and her colleagues’ efforts have been met favorably by their fellow students.

“So far most of the students I’ve talked to have been supportive and eager to help. I have encountered a few students who disagree with our goal— that we need stronger gun control on a state and national level — but for the most part those people have expressed that they still respect what we’re doing because this is democracy at work,” said Hart.

The walkout’s agenda in Belmont and around the country will be short and simple.

“We will not be having ‘speakers’ per say, but we will have a moment of silence, a reminder of why we’re walking out, and the student volunteers will be reading anonymous statements from students,” said Hart.

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