Students walk out at GRHS

About 35 students from Green River High School decided to join the nationwide school walkout to protest against gun violence.

With signs in hand, the students formed a small group outside of the high school, where they met with Principal Darren Howard and Green River Police Department School Resource Officer Ken Yager.

GRHS student Jesse Lauze-Reyes said they not only wanted to memorialize those who died in the Florida shooting, but bring up some issues they had about the school's safety policies. The walkout was only meant to take place for 17 minutes, which is to represent how many people died in the Parkland School shooting in Florida, but this one lasted 30 minutes. Howard and Yager answered the students questions and learned what the students wanted.

"We want something to be done," Lauze-Reyes said. "The survivors of Parkland didn't want thoughts and prayers, they want policy change."

She suggested Sweetwater County School District No. 2 look at the A.L.I.C.E. training program. A.L.I.C.E. stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.

Lauze-Reyes wanted to know what protocols the district had in place should a shooter enter the school. If the district has a specific policy on this type of a situation, she wanted to know what the name of that policy is so she could review it.

"I want everybody to know the procedures," she said. "I just want policies to be known by students."

Even though she was asking a lot of questions, she still feels safe.

"I would say this is a good community and I feel safe," she said.

Principal Darren Howard said he was OK with the students wanting to come out and express their concerns, but they had to be careful about making the school a place for political platforms. He was mostly concerned with whether or not the students at GRHS felt safe.

"If it's a safety issue, what can we do to help," Howard asked.

He said the district has safety procedures in place, including lockouts and lockdowns. A lockout is when no one is allowed to enter or exit the building until the perimeter is checked.

During a lockout, the school runs as it normally does. During a lockdown, the interior doors are locked, the lights are shut off and the students practice moving out of sight and remaining quiet.

GRHS student Savrina Karmini said at her old school when a lockdown happened everyone took it seriously. Students formed lines and then remained as quiet as they could during these practice lockdowns. She said she doesn't think students take it seriously at GRHS.

"We don't do them (lockdowns) enough," GRHS student Bethany Haworth said.

The students said they wanted to know they would be safe.

Howard asked them how many liberties were they willing to give up for that. He said they could put up metal detectors for the students to walk through when they come in the front doors and conduct pat downs and searches, but is that the direction this community wants to go.

The students asked why they couldn't know what the procedures and policies are that the teachers and administration have to follow in a shooter situation.

An emotional Kassi Jo Rasmussen, GRHS student, asked how the students are supposed to trust them to do the right thing. She said they had an SRO officer at the Florida building and he didn't do anything while people were being shot.

Howard said he couldn't promise Rasmussen how he would act in that type of a situation, which is hopes never happens. But he is hoping he would act like the Florida coach who gave his life to save others.