Huddled in a corner of Harold Washington Library, a group of Chicago students from seven different high schools spoke in hushed voices Thursday as they planned the Chicago Student Walkout, a protest against gun violence on the 19th anniversary of the Colorado Columbine High School shooting—Friday at 10 A.M.
All of the planning so far has been done by students—although they are getting some help from one student’s parents because they didn’t realize that the money they raised from a Gofundme (about $1,100 so far) to buy supplies such as walkie-talkies and bullhorns and pay for vans wouldn’t be available in time.
Students realize the consequences.
Gardner, who’s 18, also worries that as an adult and a person of color, he could face harsher consequences than the other students.
“For once it’s the youth in the community, the ones who usually don’t have a voice or a platform to stand on. We’re making our own,” Gardener said. “So if I have a lot on the line, there’s a lot to be gained here.”
