More than 100 Marquette Senior High School students braved the cold and walked out of class for 17 minutes Wednesday morning, joining countless others across the nation. Community supporters of the movement and some parents were also present to show their solidarity with the students who stepped into the cold to make a statement on school safety.

The 17-minute walkout was held in honor of the 17 young lives taken in the Parkland, Florida, shooting.

In addition to MSHS students, over 100 students in grades 5-12 from Aspen Ridge Middle School and Westwood High School also walked out Wednesday morning.

“We want our kids to think about what makes our school safe and happy and healthy,” Bryan DeAugustine, superintendent of NICE Community Schools, told The Mining Journal.

Many students across the country came prepared with signs with varying messages, as seen in photos by The Associated Press. Some examples were, “NOT ONE MORE,” “Am I next?” and “Enough is enough.”

We believe this student movement is a positive step toward much-needed policy change. One of the common arguments against these student movements following the Parkland shooting is that these young people aren’t even old enough to vote, so why should they be taken seriously?

While some of these students might be under the age of 18 — they are all old enough to use their First Amendment rights, as well as flood their congressmen and women with phone calls demanding change, and that’s exactly what they should do until they reach voting age. They are the ones who have to return to school in fear, left to wonder if they are going to be the next victim, while politicians do nothing to implement actual change.

“We’re sick of it,” Maxwell Nardi, a senior at Douglas S. Freeman High School in Henrico, Virginia, just outside Richmond, told the AP. “We’re going to keep fighting, and we’re not going to stop until Congress finally makes resolute changes.”

According to the AP, one historian has called the wave of protests the “largest of its kind in American history,” as students demanded action from leaders on matters of gun violence and school safety.

We are very impressed by the stand our country’s youth have taken. In a headline from a Thursday AP article, some of the students said they’ve made their move; it’s time for adults to make theirs, in the form of policy which promotes safer school environments for all. We are in agreement; these students are doing the right thing by expressing their fears and anxieties and by stating enough is enough, and we hope they continue to do so until proper action is taken.