Photo Essay: Students Take a Stand

On Wednesday, March 14, hundreds of Los Altos students walked out of their second periods in support of gun control and remembrance of the 17 lives lost in Parkland, Florida. Los Altos joined the national movement with posters and orange wristbands and signed letters to senators. Through this photo essay, the three of us aim to capture the momentum of the movement.

“I think it’s really important for teens and youth to stay involved in anything that’s happening politically. To see so many people be civically engaged is amazing, and to be a part of it is honestly the greatest thing ever.” – sophomore Mahita Bobba

Junior Johnny Sanabria holds a poster up during the walkout.

“[The walkout] means that we’re done waiting around for people to take action and we’re taking it into our own hands.”  – junior Brynna Mitchner

Read our news coverage and watch a video of the walkout here.

“After all, we are the new generation, we are the ones who will be in offices next and it is important for us to start building those bridges earlier and making these changes earlier because it’s already too late, so why should we keep waiting?” – sophomore Rachel Jacobs

“It’s the beginning of teenagers starting to take control of our own lives as this is the generation that’s grown up with active shooter drills in their schools. We want to put an end to that so that our children don’t have to practice in case there’s somebody that comes into their school trying to shoot them. We think it’s time to stop living in fear and take charge of the situation.” – junior Reilly Dennedy

“I wanted to send a message along with all the other schools that all these school shootings happening should not be something that is happening and the government needs to do something about it. We can’t currently change the laws right now, were just teenagers but we’re showing that we aren’t going to stand for this anymore.” – sophomore Sydney Enthoven

Senior Jia Seow presents her speech to participants of the walkout.

“Whenever I read about gun violence in the news, I wonder if my name will be in the list of people who are killed at the next shooting. Nobody should have to fear for their lives anywhere, whether it be at home, at work, or at school, of all places.” – senior Jia Seow

“It makes me scared. This is the 21st century I thought by now we would all have a safe place to live and it’s really unfortunate that the families had to go through this.” – senior Tan Le

Sophomore Naylea Macias wears a #enough t-shirt in support of the national movement.

“I feel like it’s just not right. Kids who are just like us, who are living their lives just like us got slaughtered and that’s just not right.” – junior Charles Xu

“I feel that if you really feel impassioned, just go out there and do something, it can be anything, use your voice, find your voice in whichever way you express yourself best. And I don’t know what that is for a lot of people, but just really be proactive and take a stand on your own terms.” – sophomore Rachel Jacobs

If you would like to use any of these photos, please email us at [email protected] or message our Facebook page.