On March 14, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 10:17 a.m., students at ERHS joined students across the United States who walked out of their classes in protest of gun violence, specifically in schools. Students and staff exited the building, marched on the football field, and heard student speeches on topics such as gun reform, mental health, and school safety.

During the 17 minutes spent marching, students chanted “No More Silence, End Gun Violence”  and held signs saying “Thoughts and Prayers Don’t Save Lives. Gun Reform Will.,” “Enough is Enough,” “Don’t Accept Pay From the NRA,” and “Love Your Kids, Not Your Guns.”

Following the march, the protesting students gathered in the gymnasium to hear from student speakers who expressed their thoughts and opinions on gun control, mental health, and lack of safety in schools.

The Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida claimed the lives of seventeen people and wounded seventeen others, and students across the country began to organize protests at their own schools, advocating for gun reform and more preventive measures to protect schools from shootings.

However, not all students at ERHS participated in the protest – an estimated 250 students remained in the building, some taking the opportunity to wander the hallways. Taking into account the 300 students recorded absent by period 2, about 2,000 students attended the walkout.