Hundreds of Oakland students held a massive walkout Tuesday in response to shootings at both Skyline High School and Laney College last week.
Skyline students walked out of class and marched off campus, demanding that more be done about the violence that’s taken place at school.
“It’s just a lot of anger and sadness and confusion on my end,” Skyline junior Blake Rogers said. “The fact that we as a society let things get this bad. And it’s not just at Skyline. It’s at all OUSD schools.”
Skyline went on lockdown last Wednesday when police say two students confronted a third in a campus bathroom and shot him. The wounded teen survived. Investigators say both teen suspects were armed and both face charges.
The following day, Oakland football icon John Beam was shot and killed on the Laney College campus.
“It’s horrible,” Oakland Tech High School student Maya Williams said. “It’s horrible to hear about this, and the fact that it’s so normalized is horrible as well.”
“The fact that somebody was injured and then somebody died on a different campus, somebody that we all know at Skyline, it really caused people to be angry,” Rogers said.
Students said violence on campus has become way too common. They want the district to do more to address the root causes.
“Obviously nobody at school can control what goes on in the private lives of students, but what we can do is we can prioritize education around gun violence,” student Inara Shafiq said. “We can make sure students are taught how to resolve conflict on their own, that students are given the resources they need.”
“I’m just so proud that they’re standing up for themselves and they shouldn’t have to,” First Covenant church pastor Sarah Henry said.
Pastor Henry met up with students to show support. She says she’s shocked at the stories students share with her.
“I have students to come to my youth group and they say, ‘today I had to go outside and there was blood on the ground because somebody stabbed my friend,’” Henry said. “That’s not right. No student should have to go to school and fear like that.”
The school district said safety and mental health are priority issues and it’s trying to find ways to improve.
Students said they will not stay silent. They want solutions now.
“Show us that they care about students,” Shafiq said. “I want people to hold our district leaders accountable.”
Source: NBC Bay Area