Walkout fallout gives students bad name

By now, most of you know about the walkout that occurred at the high school last Friday.
The walkout was planned by three students who had some legitimate concerns about things which were happening within the school. Those three, in turn, were backed by a number of other students who felt the same way.
But things got out of hand on Friday–and that was not how the walkout was supposed to happen.
The students who organized the walkout had planned to present their list of demands to administration first, then sit down to negotiate with them. If nothing came of that, the plan was to walk out.
Some of the gripes students have include having to carry hall passes when out of class, and the fact that when security cameras were put up in the hallways, the students were never told why.
It seemed as though it was a response to things students had done wrong.
The walkout was intended to be a mature, responsible, and peaceful protest–a way to have the students’ collective voice heard. But that is not what happened.
What happened was that on Friday, someone else decided to incite the walkout. The students who actually did care about what was going on in the school walked out as well because they felt they were almost forced to.
Principal Terry Ellwood came out to try to get the crowd of more than 150 students back to class only to have them chant obscenities and threaten him. Vice-Principal Mary Hickling also came outside only to have rocks thrown at her.
Smart moves.
Several students ran inside the school, stole a wall clock, and then smashed in the parking lot.
Another smart move. Hmmmm . . . stealing a clock and breaking it. Isn’t that just giving them another reason to put up security cameras in the hallways?
The problem was not that the students wanted to voice their opinion, and the problem wasn’t that they planned to walk out. The real problem is that something that ultimately should have been a good thing, something that should have been beneficial for both students and administration, turned into a farce–and made all students at FFHS look bad.
No one can condone the actions of many students on Friday. But they weren’t the only ones out there. There were students who walked out of class for the right reasons. There were students who stood by peacefully while others put a black mark on the reputation of the school.
Even some members of administration believe the walkout could have been a constructive and useful tool had it followed the proper channels, and been done the right way. But we all know that things don’t always go as planned.
When things started to get out of control, a number of students left the scene because it was accomplishing nothing. They didn’t go back to class but removed themselves from the crowd.
“It was just ridiculous” was how one female student put it a few days after the walkout.
The students who organized the walkout have been meeting with administration at the school for the last few days to negotiate their concerns. They are trying to work together to solve some problems; they are trying to get back on track–the way it was planned.
On one hand, maybe what happened Friday goes to show that FFHS does need cameras in the hallways, and that administration should keep a closer eye on students. Or on the other hand, maybe it shows there are students at the school who are responsible enough to do things right.
And when things go wrong, try and do everything they can to right that wrong.