Rock Hill, Fort Mill other students address school shootings on #NationalWalkoutDay

National Walkout Day demonstrations ranged from candles, to the reading of victims’ names to protest signs Wednesday at schools throughout York, Lancaster and Chester counties.

The event began in response to the shooting deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February.

Area students and school leaders were quick to share their experiences online.

A photo tweeted from @FortMillWalkout shows what appears to be a flood of students in the commons area at Fort Mill High School. A half dozen or so look to be holding protest signs. One argues 18th century laws can’t regulate 21st century action on the issue.

The Twitter account has been organizing a walkout at Fort Mill High for a week. Students were asked to come to the commons area at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes, in honor of the 17 victims from the Parkland shooting.

Students in other parts of York County participated, too. Including a number of students gathering outside at Rock Hill High School.

Several Snapchat videos from Rock Hill High School showed students sitting outside together or holding signs. One had text over it stating “Rock hill high came together.” Another added the #endschoolviolence along with noting the 35-degree temperature outside, where students were huddled. Yet another in Rock Hill mentioned the Parkland shooting.

“We came together as a school to stand up for those 17 individuals who were torn away from their families in the shooting,” it read.

A Northwestern High School teacher tweeted her support for students there participating in the walkout.

At Andrew Jackson High School in Lancaster County, students sat in a hallway as the names of Parkland victims were read.

In Chester County, the student council led walkout activities at Lewisville High School. Students lit candles in honor of the Parkland victims.

One Twitter user in Tega Cay posted even younger students are thinking about gun control. Photos of artwork @Lorraine721 attributes to her fifth-grader state “we die from school shootings” and calls for changes.

Higher education is involved, too. Winthrop University political science professor and polling expert Scott Huffmon tweeted several responses to the conversation many non-sudents are having online on where to walk out or walk up, as in walking up and befriending people as a means of preventing people becoming outcasts as school shooters often are labeled.

Huffmon said there’s no reason why people can’t do both.

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Rock Hill, Fort Mill other students address school shootings on #NationalWalkoutDay."