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Woodrow’s walkout lost a key guest when Dallas ISD asked the candidate for Texas’ 32nd district not to participate. The district has a policy against non-elected officials currently seeking office speaking on campus, as it could be viewed as campaigning. The student speakers will still take the stage.
Allred’s office said the Hillcrest grad understands what the students are doing and why they are doing it, and doesn’t want to cause any problems for them.
J.L. Long will also be hosting a walkout on Friday “to protest in solidarity with the students of Parkland,” according to a school email. City Councilman Philip Kingston will speak at the event, which begins on Friday at 10.a.m.
Some parents were worried that the event had become too political. Steve Gregory, who has a child at Long, appreciated the students’ initiative in organizing the event and using their voice, but worried about the implications.
In an email to Dallas ISD trustee Dustin Marshall, he wrote that he has “a very strong issue with our students unknowingly becoming a support system for a very divisive political campaign… I believe his speaking at this event allows the children in our neighborhood to unknowingly be used as a backdrop of insinuated support for a political candidate.”
Participation in the events are optional for all students, but students are allowed to sign in to their respective classes before the walkouts to avoid an unexcused absence. Students can remain in class during the walkouts if they choose.
