Year after year, the number of school shootings in the United States continues to rise. And year after year, the urgency of this issue continues to intensify. As lawmakers and lobbyists on either side of the argument continue to debate the best path forward, there’s one group that’s demanding its voice be heard — the group that’s most impacted by school shootings: students. That’s why the youth-led nonprofit Students Demand Action is staging a walkout to protest gun violence in the wake of the latest tragic shooting.
On Aug. 27, Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the site of a mass shooting as students and faculty gathered for a school-wide assembly. Two children were killed and 21 others were injured in the attack. According to CNN, this was the 44th school shooting in the U.S. this year.
In the days following the Annunciation shooting, Students Demand Action mobilized to create a nationwide school walkout event meant to protest gun violence and call on lawmakers to enact changes, such as bans on assault weapons.
If you want to participate in a walkout on your campus, or you’re just curious about the movement, here’s what you need to know about Students Demand Action’s walkout against gun violence.
When Is Students Demand Action’s Walkout Against Gun Violence?
The upcoming walkout is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 5 at noon local time. The goal is to make a collective statement, with students across the country standing against gun violence as a united front — however, if this date or time isn’t feasible for whatever reason, individuals and groups are still able to organize their own walkout when possible.
Here’s How To See if your School is participating
The Students Demand Action website has a map of registered events that lists the time, location, and details of each walkout. While the majority of registered walkout locations are high schools, there are quite a few colleges participating in Friday’s events, including North Carolina State University, Bates College, Widener University, and Texas Woman’s University.
Here’s how to organize a walkout at your school
If your school doesn’t currently have a walkout registered, you can change that! If you’d like to spearhead a walkout on your campus, the Students Demand Action website has a walkout activation toolkit to help you through the process, complete with talking points for discussing the event with your school administrators, ideas for publicizing the walkout, and resources for staying safe and knowing your rights as you protest.