In early February, a tragedy struck Parkland, Florida, when a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 14 students, 3  teachers, and injured many more.

One month later, on March 14, students nationwide walked out of school and joined together in the cry for improved school safety in the hope that things like what happened in Florida wouldn’t happen again.

“I think it’s important for students to speak out,” said sophomore Brooklynn Toon. “We’re the next people to vote, and our voices matter.”

Toon also saw the walk-out as a chance to show her support for the students in Florida.

“I care about people a lot,” she said. “And the fact that a whole school of students is traumatized for the rest of their lives, and that people lost their lives, affects me because I’m saddened by it.”

Some students didn’t agree with the walkout as it seemed it would affect their second amendment rights and it didn’t seem right to bring that kind of issue to a tribute for the victims.

Some students didn’t see the point in having the protest and felt that they weren’t affected by the shooting.

“There’s really no point because it didn’t affect us in any way, shape, or form,” said freshman Corbin Hasenauer. “People are like, ‘yeah it shouldn’t happen,’ but things happen like that, it’s like everyday life.”

Others thought the protest became about gun control, and they felt the wrong message was being sent.

“I feel like majority of it is aimed at the whole gun control thing,” said sophomore Joe Alonso. “I am affected by the shooting, and it’s terrible, no one should ever have to go through that, and I don’t want that to happen within our school but I don’t think we need to have any gun control.”

Alonso does recognize the need for better safety measures, but he doesn’t feel banning guns is the solution.

“I think it’s more on the people who are getting these guns,” he said. “I think we need to definitely have more security when buying a gun but I don’t think we have to ban any type of guns.”

While many students oppose gun control, others think restrictions would benefit everyone.

“I think that it shouldn’t be a debate whether a kid’s life matters more than a gun,” said Toon. “I think that if you’re planning to use your gun wisely, and responsibly, then you shouldn’t have a problem with having more restrictions on it. So, yeah, I think it’s important to make sure that we keep assault weapons out of the hands of citizens who clearly can’t even control themselves in general, let alone a gun.”

The walk-out witnessed a lot of students voicing their opinions, whether they agreed with the walk-out or not. The controversy continues to rage across the country, but hopefully the walk-out encourages students to come together to work for a better, and safer, school.