Area Students Protest to Push for Safe Schools
Around the country and throughout metro Birmingham Wednesday, students from kindergarten through 12th grade participated in National Walkout Day. They were honoring recent school shooting victims and raising awareness about the need for school safety.
Hundreds of Mountain Brook High students walked down the school hallway. They said they feel safe. But they also said they feel connected to students in Parkland, Florida and across town in Huffman, where there have been fatal school shootings.
“ These were people just like me,” says Nik Dworek, student body president. “This could have been very easily me could have happened at any high school.”
Students packed into the center of the school. Most of them wore black. They set up little boxes and note paper on tables around the school for students to write notes to lawmakers. In his speech, Dworek called for unity and challenged students to tell leaders what they want.
“Let’s change the status quo,” he said. “Let’s do it, not only for us and our generation, but for generations to come.
Kary Utomi, a junior, led a memorial to 17 students killed in Parkland, Florida a month ago, and Courtlin Arrington, a senior killed at Huffman High School last week.
“This isn’t about a political statement. It’s about legislators being able to hear what we need and we want from them,” she said.
Mountain Brook’s event started at 9:50 a.m. Participation was voluntary, but student organizers said most of the school’s 1,000 students were gathered in a large open space inside the school. The students decided to stay inside for access to a sound system and video screen, said Simona Shirley, one of the organizers.
At other schools, like Spain Park High School in Hoover, administrators did not support the walkout, and parents say students were threatened with suspension. Administrators did not return calls for comment. At Vestavia Hills High School, the principal didn’t allow media on campus during the walkout. Birmingham schools supported the walkout, and Superintendent Lisa Herring tweeted: “I’m standing with students.”
Mountain Brook High School Principal Amanda Hood watched the 18-minute program. She said she wants students to know they are safe so they can focus on their education. But she also wants them to learn from sharing opinions and taking action.
Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, the U.S. says
Ukraine raised alarm suggesting Russia may have used an intercontinental ballistic missile to hit the city of Dnipro, but the U.S. National Security Council does not believe it was an ICBM.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s attorney general nominee
Allegations of sex trafficking and drug use had stirred controversy over Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general.
This year’s FAFSA is officially open. Early review says it’s ‘a piece of cake’
The FAFSA form is now open to students hoping to get help paying for college in the 2025-26 academic year. Students can expect a much smoother process compared to the last cycle.
He was stuck in a hospital for 8 months. How states can fail people with disabilities
In Georgia and other states, the federal government oversees the treatment of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, because the states have been unable to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the subsequent Olmstead ruling.
Foreign nationals propel U.S. science. Visa limits under Trump could change that
The incoming Trump administration is likely to crack down on the H-1B visas used by tech companies and research institutions to hire top talent from other countries.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
