Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.

Now and then a truck rumbled up the old dusty road to Eldora, shaking on the washboards as it slowed down for the turn into the Nederland Middle Senior High School on March 14, 2018.

A raven could be heard shrieking from the best seat in the house, a telephone pole overlooking the football field. It seemed to be aware that soon, an event was going to take place, that there was a common motive amidst the students who formed a circle, opening a gap for new students to slip into the pattern of human continuity.

The students were quiet. One could hear the flag flapping in the wind and students lowered their heads and let their thoughts flow and mingle with the those of their neighbor’s. It was an intensely peaceful, yet powerfully united, display of support for the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school who were killed last month in Parkland, Florida. It was eight minutes of joining over 3,000 high schools from all over the country in the loud unspoken message that students were picking up the battle, carrying the flag to stop violence in schools.

This was now their war.

NMSHS students were allowed out of class an hour earlier than usual to join their classmates in the protest against bullying and bringing weapons into the school place.

Junior Hattie Bakke was stricken by the news that a single gunman had opened fire into a crowd of kids. The suspect, a former student of the school, had put out the signs of danger with messages on Twitter, pictures of his guns and an increasing anger with classmates and teachers. When Hattie heard that other students had formed in-school rallies, “walkouts,” designated messages of support for the impacted students in Florida, she knew she wanted Nederland to join their linked hands in support.

“I was nervous,” says Hattie. “It was hard being responsible for such a huge event, I didn’t want anything to go wrong, I wanted everything to turn out all right. I hoped this would get the kids together, to let the students experience the power they have if they unite.”

She told the students that they must face calamities together, that their voices must be heard and that they must have that voice.

“It is important to discuss school safety together. We are unified by the desire to protect those we love. And we have to recognize the power that our voices have. This is what democracy looks like.”

It was a turning point for all students in all schools across the country.

Wild Bear Nature Center Director Jill Dreves addressed the students, saying that something was seriously wrong, that something needed to change. “We have to end the bullying culture. You have the control to stop and help one another. We must be compassionate, and we must show others what democracy looks like. Your voice is powerful.”

Dreves looked out over the group huddled on the wet turf and said, “This is what democracy looks like.” Students from all over the country left their classrooms to make a statement. In 1963, 800 black students from Birmingham, Alabama walked out of their schools. By the time it was dark, close to 1,000 children had been taken to the Birmingham Jail even though all had been merely marching peacefully to the downtown business district.

The Children’s Crusade was the turning point. Dreves told the kids, “They walked out because there is something seriously wrong when you have to feel unsafe in the school you attend. You’re stating loudly and clearly that something needs to change. We have to end the bullying culture and it is up to each one of us. We can all help those who can’t help themselves.”

Be a compassionate citizen.

Register to vote.

On March 24, there will be a March for our Lives in Denver, and Dreves strongly urged the students to organize a NMSHS walkout in conjunction with them.

“We must demand that our schools will be safe. Now is the time and place and it all begins with you. Do the right thing in your life.”

Supporting Hattie’s organization of the NMSHS walkout was Mazie Pancoast, Sydney Mayhew and her brother, a NHS alumnus Hunter Mayhew, who is a sophomore at Trinity University in San Antonio. Hunter said when he learned what his sister and her friends were working on, he wanted to hop aboard. Hunter is studying biology and the timing worked out that he was here during the spring break and could join the event.

He was proud to see current students standing up for their beliefs and raising money to keep the fund going.

Dreves told the students that it all began with them. “Support one another. Pay attention and participate in your democracy, and demand that your school will be safe. You can also make your voice heard outside the school hour and go to the March for our Lives on March 24 in Denver or organize an event in our own community.” Dreves says,

“You have the right to speak your true truth and be heard.”

Also, on Tuesday, April 3, the NMSHS is hosting a presentation about Rachel Joy Scott’s death during the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999. It is a powerful reminder of the little things we do to make our world a place of peace. Start a chain reaction.