It was only a week ago that a mysterious Instagram account under the username @arroyohighschoolwalkout appeared. The account spread across campus rapidly, generating chatter in classrooms among the teachers and students of Arroyo alike.

The student-run account was a part of the national movement to pay tribute to the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting, as well as protest gun violence. The account’s posts informed students to walk out of classrooms on March 14th at 10AM and sit, lay, or stand in Rally Square for 17 minutes.

Concerns regarding such an event arose immediately. However, posts informing students of their first amendment rights as well as the possible, legal consequences of participation proved to be reassuring. Many teachers decided to speak to classes about the walkout, reiterating the possible repercussions of missing class. As the day of the event approached, discussion did not cease whatsoever.

The morning of March 14th proceeded normally. Students proceeded to their 1st, 2nd, and nutritional periods as they usually did. At 10 o’ clock, however, students rose from their seats and a huge crowd gathered in Rally Square. Administrators and several teachers surrounded the mass of bodies to supervise.

“I decided to participate in the Walkout because my friend Lauren had gave me lots of reasons to join, and well, I wanted to be a part of the group and help protect our schools and our peers. So we got to give each other a hand and help each other out to keep our school safe,” says Anthony Mendoza, 12.

“Gun control and basically just problems that have been around the community are really important to me specifically, and I always wanted to be really involved whether it be through a protest, like through the Women’s March. So I thought it was really important for me to stand up for something I believed in,” shares Savannah Landaverry, 12.

Students brought posters with strong messages, chanted words protesting against gun violence, and shared short speeches about the cause.

“I met up with a couple of people and I started to spread my ideas about what I felt needs to be done, and then as most of the people who went to the walkout saw, I walked up to the thing and I gave a speech, kind of like to motivate people to start making changes and to start protesting more with peace,” says Mason Schoenfeld, 10.

When asked how she felt about the event, Landaverry said, “I thought it was pretty good considering the fact that we had a lot of assembly and a lot of people–  even if they didn’t show up intentionally for the purpose of supporting the cause. We were able to give them the message, so at least people who didn’t care about it knew what was happening and at least it made an impact.”

Administrators proved to be satisfied with the level of organization and compliance that students displayed.

“I think the students were able to express their opinion. The kids were very good when it was time [to do so]. Everybody went back to class….The kids did well,” shares Principal Angelita Gonzalez.