Student Lead Walkout Turns into Massive Disruption to Learning

Gee Riester was one of the people who planned this event, “the idea came up in the Annie Jr group chat. We wanted to do it on Thursday last week, but it was too late notice. I came up with the idea to make an activism Instagram page [@gms.activists] to plan another walkout.” The idea for the protest came from countrywide protests that took place last week after the killing of 19 students and 2 adults in a school shooting. Outraged, many citizens took to the streets to fight for more gun control in America. Gee’s goal in leading their own protest at Glasgow was to bring awareness to the issue, not make any changes.
Trying to get students back in class, administrators took the group inside. Instead of going back to class, a large group of students ran around the hallways, screaming, and disrupting the learning of their peers.
Due to the lack of control and discipline, administrators shut down the protest, punishing those who stayed. Students are trying to schedule a new protest on Friday, June 3, 2022, which happens to be National Gun Awareness day. This time, students are working with administrators to construct a safe and effective plan for students to share their voices.

Raine Jeff (They/Them) is an 8th Grader at Glasgow Middle School. They grew up in Virginia and have lived there for their whole life. They dance, play soccer, like doing art, baking, and taking care of their plants. They have a dog that they got during the pandemic and adore. They enjoy learning and being challenged to think in new ways.