About 200 Arkansas High School students participated in the #NationalWalkoutDay movement on Wednesday by leaving class at 10 a.m. and observing 17 minutes of silence, one for each person who lost their life in a Florida school shooting one month ago.
As the walkout came to a close, AHS senior Christina Cannady urged students to be kind to one another and make new friends so people won't feel alone and afraid. Also she asked them to tell their parents they loved them and appreciated them.
She said students wanted to do the least they could do to pay respect "to the families who lost their babies."
While she was not the official organizer of the local event, she spoke as it ended because some students were talking during the somber, reflective observation.
Senior Allie Spellman said she thought the event was beautiful and it was good to see the school's students come together. Spellman said she plans to be more cautious about how she treats others.
The students lined the outside of Arkansas High School's main entrance between the flag poles and exterior of the school's Red Wall, many with their heads bowed.
A student activist movement using hashtags #enough and #neveragain organized the walkout. It commemorates the 17 people who lost their lives in the Parkland, Fla., school shooting one month ago and advocates for an end to gun violence in schools.
A mass protest called the March for our Lives is planned for March 24 in Washington, D.C., and other locations around the world, and another school walkout is planned for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the shooting attack at Columbine High School in Colorado that killed 12 students and one teacher.