One March 14th, Hoover students utilized their first amendment right and gathered on the field as both a remembrance of the Parkwood tragedy and as a protest that enough was enough. This student planned organizing was taken on and enacted with grace and respect. The students were aided  by all the academies as well as ASB and a variety of clubs.

At 9:30 am, students walked out of their classrooms and either filled the bleachers or went to the field to form a heart as a symbol that Hoover, a school across the country from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, felt their pain and grief. 17 students approached the podium and spoke about the lives lost on February 14, which was followed by a moment of silence. During this painful time, each and every student on the field showed respect and honored the lives that were lost. By choosing to honor and remember the lives that were taken rather than the shooter’s background, we are remembering what matters: the victims.

Jacqueline Torres one of the seventeen speakers took it especially personal during the ceremony.

“It’s frustrating how politicians are handling this crisis,” said Jacqueline, a junior at Hoover. “Learning about who she was and how young she was really hurt, as I read on and learned more about Alaina Petty, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. She was just fourteen!  What if someone went to my brother’s elementary with a weapon? I just wanna thank everybody that came out and showed support and created the heart. It kept me going.”

This was a responsible and safe reaction to the insane amount of school shootings throughout the country. Hoover students and students across the country stood up and voiced their outrage. This was a sign that although we are young, we have a voice, we are powerful, and that we will protect ourselves if no one else does.