GREENFIELD — Dozens of Four Rivers Charter Public School students walked out of their classes Thursday afternoon to protest gun violence in a peaceful demonstration organized by three seventh graders.
Adele Bross, Sofie Cosme and Jillyin Eastman started brainstorming a walkout a few weeks ago and put their plans into high gear following the May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 dead, including 19 children, and 17 wounded.
“It is an important situation,” Sofie said. “And it’s sad that we even have to protest this in the first place, but I feel like it’s necessary.”
The students, some holding handmade signs, and a handful of staff members left campus at roughly 2 p.m. and headed west to the adjacent Greenfield Community College campus, where they were joined by some high school students from Four Rivers. High school students have been learning in GCC classrooms since a fire in their building’s bathroom set off a fire alarm and sprinkler system, causing considerable water damage throughout the structure.
All of the student protesters, many of them chanting calls for gun control, then walked down College Drive to the nearby roundabout, where they stood for roughly five minutes and continued chanting while generating occasional honks of approval from passing motorists.
Lee Collins, an adviser and assistant teacher, commended the youths as they started to leave the roundabout area and head back to campus.
“Activist box, checked,” he shouted, making a check-mark gesture in the air. “Superhero box, checked.”
The student demonstrators returned to campus and many stood by the side of the road, holding signs and chanting. Organizers said the protest would probably continue until the students were picked up from school at 3:05 p.m.
Jillyin said gun violence is “something you should be raising awareness to more often.”
Adele said schools should be safe places.
“I just feel like this is something we need to do because it has to be now,” she said.
“There’s been over 18,000 lives lost to gun violence just this year alone, which is a terrible thing to happen,” Sofie said. “We market schools as safe environments, but how can we know it’s safe if these things are happening around us?”
Before returning to their GCC classrooms, high schoolers Bryn Appel, P McDonald-O’Neil, Vel Smith and Delia West said they joined the walkout to support the younger students, who a couple of them called future activists.
Zevey Steinitz, acting head of school and principal, said her students were likely inspired by similar demonstrations throughout Franklin County and the country. For example, Pioneer Valley Regional School students in Northfield held a walkout on May 31, and the annual gun violence vigil was held on June 3 on the Greenfield Common.
“It’s really heartening to see students learning how to be social activists and how to exercise their right to free speech and peaceful protest,” Steinitz said. “I heard about it yesterday, so it came together very quickly.”
Steinitz said the protest was not a school-sanctioned event and students had the option to walk out or remain in class. She estimated about half the student body decided to participate.
Reach Domenic Poli at dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.