Vast Majority of Point Loma High School Students Join National Walk-Out Against Gun Violence

The vast majority of Point Loma High School students joined a national walk-out against gun violence, this Wednesday morning – the 14th of March.

There’s 1900 students on campus the principal told me and by far most of them had gathered near the east end of the school’s football field.  A few minutes before 10:00am – the hour of the walk-out – a bell went off and students began streaming towards the southern end of the school where the athletic fields are.

By time I got to the football field, massive numbers of students were listening to and cheering on a series of speakers – most of them students – plea and demand changes to how this society handles guns and violence.

All quiet in front of PLHS at 9:50 am

About 15 minutes before 10, I had parked out on Chatsworth and took up a position on a stone wall across the boulevard from Point Loma. I had noticed a police SUV parked in the church parking lot also just across the street.

At 9:49 am all was quiet. Around 9:55 a few students walked out from their classes heading to others. There was nothing at the front of the school to indicate anything out of the ordinary. By my phone clock, at 9:57 a bell went off and students began walking in good numbers toward the football field.

After approaching a man in his 40’s who looked like an administrator, I asked him if there was some kind of walk-out and rally on campus. He said yes, over at the football field. We both began walking in that direction. I was wearing my official OB Rag Press tag around my neck and told him I was with the media. I asked him his name and title, and he replied Haus Becker and principal. I was impressed – very cordial and easy-going guy.

Becker told me the event was totally student-organized. He did add that they’d adjusted the bell system for the day to avoid loss of instruction time.

One young woman speaker “Not one more death from gun violence at school! If we keep up this momentum” she said, “there won’t be one more!” She declared her generation was all going to be voters soon and threatened they would be making changes.

One student speaker told me the event was going on much longer than the 17-minute time extolled by the national walk-out organizers. It was going to noon, he said.

A group of mothers stand in solidarity.

I took a few photos, circling the large crowd and finally became teary-eyed listening to these kids yell out “Enough! Enough! Enough!”