Junior Olivia Covington was devastated when she heard the news last week that seventeen people were killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

That devastation turned into anger as she wondered why school shootings were so common in America.

“This shouldn’t be happening to kids,” said Olivia. “It’s absolutely ridiculous this is even a thing kids have to worry about.”

When Olivia heard that students across the nation were holding walkouts, she had an idea. She was going to plan a walkout of her own at Eastern to promote peace and honor the victims who were lost in the shooting.

On Monday night, Olivia gathered a group of friends that would become her fellow organizers including Niemai Smith, Jireh Davis, Grace Council, Kaya McIver, Noelle Scott, and Anya Alinea.

They worked diligently to write speeches and plan the logistics, losing sleep as they worked late into the night to ensure a successful walkout on Wednesday.

Despite spreading the news of the walkout on social media to fellow classmates and friends, the organizers thought they might be the only ones to show up.

At 12:00 P.M., the predetermined meeting time, the organizers were astounded to see over one hundred-fifty students gathered in the main lobby.

The organizers led the group outside into the bright sunshine at 12:05 to the designated rally point near the tennis courts.

Despite distractions from news helicopters hovering around the rally, the organizers never swayed. Olivia, Kaya, Jireh, and Anya each gave emotional speeches. Niemai Smith and Rachel Rhodes moved others to tears while singing songs to commemorate the victims. Some students other than the organizers also gave inspiring speeches. At 12:40, the group made its way back into school while chanting, “Stop the Violence! Increase the Peace!”

“The walk out was very moving,” said junior, Aislinn McCourt. “There are always people attending things just because other people are going, but there were a lot of people who really cared about the issues we face today.”

“I decided to go to the walkout because school shootings are something that affect my life directly,” said sophomore Catherine Nguyen. “I was tired of constantly going through a cycle of shootings happening, but having no change happen to prevent it from happening again.”

“It was just amazing to see all those people come together,” said Olivia. “Everybody from different parts of the school, people who don’t talk to each other, just came together.”

In preparing for the walkout, the organizers took inspiration from past leaders who practiced peaceful protests.

“I think that we were inspired by M.L.K because he stood for peace, and for everybody just to stand for one thing,” said Olivia.

Olivia and the other organizers were also very thankful to the administration for allowing them to proceed with the walkout. Because of the administration and police presence, they never felt in danger.

“I appreciate how the administration made us feel safe [during the walkout],” said Olivia. “They were very helpful with the whole project and I appreciate it a lot.”

“   The future is theirs,” said principal Robert Tull. “As long as people want change for the greater good, then we want to be able to support that and give students the opportunity to express that desire.”

This march was important not only to promote peace, but also to show that the youth can come together to help make a difference.

Despite what some may say, organizer Kaya McIver says, “our generation is very strong. Our generation is what is going to change the future. We have control of what is going to happen. We need to stand up.”

“It just starts with one person,” Olivia said. “You don’t need 50,000 people behind you. It just starts with one person and it just spreads. Never be afraid to make a change, even if it’s just you.”