Students engage in a peaceful walkout in solidarity of the school shooting in Nashville.

Jeffrey McLaren and Caroline Scott|April 11, 2023

On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, a group of about 500 students marched out of school and gathered in the staff parking lot at 9:30 a.m. to protest the recent school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee that took the lives of six victims. The protest was organized by seniors Paige Regan, Sarah Wuh and Leah Chudy. Their goal was to make a statement against gun violence and give students an outlet, along with a place to go and share their support, in a safe and healthy way. The entire protest started with a small speech, thanking everyone for participating and talking about the recent shooting. The entire group then took part in a six-minute moment of silence to reflect on the shootings and pay respects to those who were killed.

“We weren’t expecting the numbers that we got,” said senior Paige Regan. “We were really happy with that. We didn’t want to give any speeches just because it wasn’t a political thing, or anything like that. We wanted to keep it peaceful and respectful.”

Students process out of the building at 9:30 a.m., gathering in the North Butler parking lot. According to Paige Regan, the goal was to “make a statement against gun violence but also to stand in solidarity with the victims of the school shooting in Nashville.” Local police and Principal Dr. Koulentes supervised the peaceful display protesting gun violence in schools. (Caroline Scott)
Seniors (from left) Leah Chudy, Sarah Wuh and Paige Regan reflect during the six minutes of silence that were observed at the walkout, honoring the six victims of the Nashville shooting. They, along with numerous other students, wore orange, the color representing anti-gun violence. (Caroline Scott)