WESTBROOK – Although snow postponed their participation in the National Student Walkout Wednesday, it could not stop Westbrook High School’s students from coming together the following day to stand united against gun violence and to seek ways to make schools a safer place to learn and work.

When Maguire heard about the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, she knew she couldn’t sit idly by.

Maguire joined forces with  Cao and Popovic to organize a walkout in Westbrook to coincide with the National School Walkout. The event, which was planned at hundreds of schools all across the country, including many here in Maine, was aimed at honoring the victims of the Parkland shooting, raising awareness of gun violence in the schools and encouraging members of Congress to take action. Westbrook’s event, originally set for March 14, was pushed back to Thursday because of a snow day Wednesday.

“After I saw what happened in Florida I knew that I wanted to help stop this issue from hitting closer to home. I was encouraged and inspired after seeing the many youth advocates speaking out against gun violence and when I found out there was a walkout for all schools to participate in, I knew I wanted Westbrook to be involved,” Maguire said.

At the event, dozens of students peacefully assembled outside the high school’s front entrance under the guidance of school administration and staff.

“I hope students and staff become more educated on the issues more than anything. I’m not trying to change others’ beliefs, but by presenting this in an educational format I believe students will start to form their own opinions based on what is happening,” Maguire said. “My hope is that the staff and administration are inspired by our acts of courage in this time and that they will be more than willing to enforce better safety protocols around Westbrook High School and the community.”

In a March 7 letter to parents, Superintendent Peter Lancia said “as a school community, safety is and remains our single most important priority.We continually review, practice and refine our safety protocols and are making changes to improve our physical structures and systems.”

Maguire said she generally feels safe at Westbrook High School, but more could be done to improve school safety.

“On most days, I do feel safe in Westbrook High School,” she said. “There have been threats, however, sending us into a lockdown because of a potential gunman that turned out to be false. The scare was enough for me to see what a shooting in a school would be like, and it has pushed me further to enforce the change that is needed.”

While the event was student-led, Lancia said school administrators and Westbrook police officers helped students to ensure the event was appropriate and safe.

Students who participated in the high school’s walkout were not disciplined for doing so. In his letter to Westbrook parents, Lancia said “if students feel compelled to walk out of school and join this event being planned by students, they will not be stopped from doing so. There will be no penalties for participating in such an event, however, if students are disorderly or chose to leave campus, there will be standard consequences. No student will be pressured to participate if they choose not to do so or do not hold a particular point of view.”

Aside from the walkout, students at the high school also took time Thursday to discuss the role they play in making their schools a safer, and more supportive place. Students at the high school were scheduled to meet with state legislators Rep. Drew Gattine and Sen. Cathy Breen that afternoon to talk about gun legislation. Gattine represents Westbrook in House District 34 (south of the Presumpscot River) and Breen represents  Senate District 25, which covers Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Falmouth, Gray, Long Island, Yarmouth and part of Westbrook.

With the walkout in the rear-view mirror, organizers know continued dialogue on the subject of gun violence and school safety is needed.

“The next steps will be to have more discussions on today’s current events in classes. I want teachers and staff to know that they can express their opinions without influencing others beliefs,” Maguire said. “Our school needs to hold more dialogues where we face issues happening in our community, rather than spreading rumors or pretending they don’t exist.”

“You have taken a step. Now see it through. Never stop fighting,” Popovic told the crowd before they returned to classes.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 781-3661 x 125 or mkelley@theforecaster.net

Kelly Maguire, middle, reads the names and description of the victims of last month’s shooting in Parkland, Florida while fellow event organizers Sandy Cao and Zoe Popovic look on. (Staff photo by Michael Kelley)

Westbrook High School walkout organizer Sandy Cao urged her fellow students to ‘raise their voices’ against gun violence in schools and play an active role in seeking the change they desire. (Staff photo by Michael Kelley)

Dozens of Westbrook High School students united Thursday to briefly leave classes  in conjunction with a national walk out effort to urge government leaders to take action to stop mass shootings and gun violence in schools and other public places. (Staff photo by Michael Kelley)