Seaford H.S. students question role in walkout

Students: School officials took over walkout

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When the idea of a commemorative walkout was brought up at a Student Council meeting, everybody was on board with it, said Seaford High School senior Anna Gagliano, the council treasurer. Before they spoke to the administration, the students planned the walkout on their own.

The event would be run entirely by students, who would stand in solidarity with the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. They would memorialize the 17 victims who died one month earlier, advocate for school safety and security on a national level — as well as more lockdown and lockout drills at Seaford High — and begin a conversation in town about anti-bullying initiatives, like a club. Above all else, the walkout was not to stand for gun control or any political agenda, Gagliano said, but for general school safety.

Then the administration stepped in and “bargained” with the student body, according to Gagliano and classmates Daniela Valentino and Jordan Ament.

“That agreement compromised the walkout’s purpose,” said Ament, the class of 2018’s valedictorian, who has family friends in Parkland, including a Marjory Stoneman Douglas sophomore who survived the shooting.

“The administration inserted a message about ‘Seaford Pride’ in what should have been a memorial service that supported a nationwide conversation,” Ament added. “It’s not about Seaford — it was meant to support schools nationwide. It’s not about us. It’s a larger conversation than just us.”

Gagliano echoed her classmate’s sentiments. “We talk about ‘Seaford Pride’ every single day,” she said. “But this was a memorial service for the 17 lives that were lost, and for every other kid that was killed in a school shooting since 1999. The issue is way bigger than just Seaford alone, and it’s not our place to end it with a ‘Go, Vikings!’”

“It’s almost like there’s a time and place for everything,” Gagliano added.

“And that was not the time to talk about it,” Ament interjected.

Gagliano went on to say that “as the young people of this generation, it’s our responsibility to make sure that for us, and for, one day, our children, our schools are a safer place — that we don’t have to fear going to school every day.” Ultimately, she said, the conversation has to start with the students.

Seaford Superintendent Dr. Adele Pecora, however, told parents and members of the school board at their March 15 meeting that she thought the walkout was a “wonderful” and “eloquent” event, and she praised the behavior of the students who took part, as well as those who chose to stay in the school gym instead. She said she met with high school student leaders beforehand to come up with a way to give students a voice and to mourn the Florida shooting victims. Letters were sent to high school students’ parents in advance, Pecora said.

What the students and the administration did agree on was that neither wanted members of the media on campus during the walkout. The administration cited safety concerns, but Valentino said the students didn’t want to give the wrong impression as to why they were walking out.

“We didn’t do this memorial service for attention,” she said. “We did this to fulfill what we have to do as citizens.”

In addition to walking out, students sold “#Enough” bracelets for $2 each, with the proceeds going to the Parkland victims’ families, and signed a banner. They said they plan to continue conversations with administration about anti-bullying efforts, and emphasizing school safety with more lockout and lockdown drills.

Seaford joins national movement

Seaford joined dozens of high schools across Nassau County in the March 14 event, as well as colleges like Hofstra University.

The group Women’s March Youth Empower was the national organizer of the walkout, which took place not only in the U.S. but also at schools in Europe and Australia.

It began at 10 a.m. Students walked out of their schools for precisely 17 minutes — one minute for each of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas victims.

School districts are prohibited by law from taking political positions, so district officials said they could not condone the walkout. At the same time, many said they supported the students. A number of districts, including Lynbrook and Valley Stream, held school-sponsored memorial services, and others held assemblies. One staged a lockdown drill in the hour before the walkout to emphasize the importance of school safety. Most allowed students to walk out without fear of punishment, but there were reports of a handful of Long Island districts treating the walkout as cutting class.