Students at a number of Cedar Valley schools are planning to participate in a nationwide protest of gun violence Friday that will include walking out of class for a short period of time.
Students from four schools registered their events online at nationalschoolwalkout.net. They include West High School, Cedar Falls High School, Peet Junior High in Cedar Falls and Union Middle School in Dysart. A group of students is also planning a walkout at Hoover Middle School.
The event coincides with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo., where 13 people were killed. Organizers from two of the local events said they informed the administration at their schools about the planned walkouts. Both protests are expected to last 17 minutes. That length of time has been common in many gun violence protests since February, when 17 people were killed in the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting on Valentine’s Day.