Walkouts and other displays of activism took place on Thursday in the Washington region and across the country to honor the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that happened 13 months ago. Unlike last year, CESJDS did not have a school-sponsored walkout on campus.

Dean of Students Roslyn Landy sent out an email to the high school student body on Feb. 28 regarding interest in planning a school-sponsored walkout to take place on March 14. As students did not express enough interest in planning such an event and there was harsh weather predicted for that particular day, JDS did not have a walkout. Instead, another brief program was implemented into the schedule for Thursday.

At around 10:40 a.m., junior Ryan Bauman and sophomore Alex Landy made a school-wide announcement on the PA system to commemorate the victims of the Parkland shooting.

“We want today to be a day of hope in the wake of tragedy,” Bauman said during the announcement. “It is important for us to take a stand, to speak up for what we believe in and to be a force for good in this world.”

Following Alex Landy and Bauman’s remarks, the entire Upper School stood for a moment of silence to honor each of the 17 innocent students and teachers that were tragically killed as well as every other victim of gun violence in the past year.

Junior Reilly Lowell and many of her peers felt strongly that the school should have had held a walkout this year.

“It is important for [JDS] to have a walkout this year to remember the victims of Parkland,” Lowell said. “Gun violence is an issue in our country no matter how you think it should be solved.”

Although JDS did not have a physical walkout, the school offered other opportunities for advocacy. During lunch and community time, blank paper, pens and envelopes were provided for students to write letters to regional members of Congress to take legislative action to protect and secure schools.

The administration frequently stresses that its actions do not side with one political party or the policies of a single ideology taking into consideration that many students come from different political backgrounds.

In the announcement, preventing gun violence was stressed to be a bipartisan issue and one that students should determine their own policies towards.  

“In a world in which we are witness to so many deadly attacks, it is imperative that we, the next generation, take action,” Bauman said. “Change is only possible if we do it together.”