South Lakes High School students made crayon and marker signs, their words to support National Walk Out Day. Photo posted on Twitter/South Lakes Young Democrats
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 14, one month to the day after the deadly shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., students at local high schools and across the nation observed a national day of solidarity and walked out of their classrooms in response to gun violence. #Enough, #Neveragain #NationalWalkoutDay
For students at South Lakes High School in Reston, the protest hit very close to home. A few days earlier, three Reston schools — Terraset Elementary, Langston Hughes Middle School, and South Lakes High School — went into lockdown after Fairfax County Police received reports of a student with a gun. Social media lit up by parents and students wanting to know more. The report was later declared false.
Members of the South Lakes Young Democrats club (SL Democrats) helped organize their school's walkout days before the event, writing on their Twitter account, "Enough is enough. Join us as we call for change. Wear Orange" (to support safer schools.) They urged students to make "school appropriate" signs.
During the walkout, South Lakes students gathered in the football stadium behind the school. Police cruisers were seen parked on surrounding streets. Media was not allowed on the school grounds.
Photos of the walkout as seen on the SL Democrats account showed South Lakes students holding crayon and marker-made signs: “#Enough; No More Silence, End Gun Violence; This is Not a Drill. If Something Happens, I Love you#NeverAgain.”