Bellefonte students rally in support of gun reform

Some Bellefonte Area High School students participated in the National School Walkout movement on Friday, but they didn't cut class.

About 30 students waited until after school to rally against gun violence. However, an estimated 200 students protested during the school day by staying silent and wearing bright orange "Enough is Enough" stickers.

"I think silence speaks louder than words sometimes," BAHS senior Eddie Fitz said.

The silence was particularly powerful during choir, he said. About 75 percent of the members didn't sing because they were participating in the day of silence.

"Just having a few kids singing, in a choir of 70-plus kids, was remarkable to me — it gave me chills," he said.

At dismissal, students gathered around the flagpole in front of the high school for the brief rally.

"It's not a moment; it's a movement," Fitz said. "I think that it's important to continue the conversation, not just from Washington, D.C., but to households here in Bellefonte."

Penn State professor Charles Dumas, who was representing the United Nations Association of Centre County, was the guest speaker.

"Obviously guns in schools are one of the greatest threats to the safety for our students and their personal development," Dumas said. "So we say no guns in schools — enough is enough."

Friday also marked the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School mass shooting in Colorado where 12 students and a teacher were killed. Fitz, who organized the rally, said that it was a reminder that "we can't forget."

He said he wanted to organize a protest that was "constitutionally protected," so that students could participate and not fear any repercussions. In March, about 50 BAHS students faced disciplinary action after they walked out of class to memorialize the 17 victims of the Parkland, Fla., shooting.

This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Bellefonte students rally in support of gun reform."