Green Hope students walk out, demand action after Florida school shooting

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

CARY (WTVD) -- They look directly into the camera on a video posted on the Falcon News Feed Twitter page. Their images, captured in stark black and white, their voices, passionate as they tell viewers they've had enough.

They speak for all the students walking out of Green Hope High School at noon on Wednesday, the latest demonstration at a public school in support of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

"We thought a powerful message would be 'we stand with ...' and that would be for every school that has suffered from an incident of gun violence," said senior Justin Sprink.

We've seen similar expressions of concern at other Triangle schools, from the massive walkout at Jordan High in Durham to the demonstrations at Cary High School and the action taken at Durham's Githens Middle School, where students walked out then sat quietly for 17 minutes.

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They said it was a tribute to the 17 people killed by a suspected 19-year-old gunman in Parkland, Florida.

It's happening on a day when Dick's Sporting Goods added its corporate voice to the debate about access to guns in America.

Dick's will no longer sell assault-style rifles and will ban sales of any firearm to customers under 21 years of age.

Green Hope students and their supporters insist their protest is not about politics, but a call for more safety at schools.

"We don't really have a comment on that (Dick's actions) because whether you're a Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal, it's the basic idea that everyone should feel safe in their school," said junior Shea Kofkin-Hansen.

Their principal's weekly message includes this quote from the student council: "These are our lives and we're ready to take a stand.

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