EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Students at East Lansing High School organized a walkout Thursday morning.
The event was put together to protest gun violence at the school. Many students say they are tired of “feeling afraid” while in their classrooms.
Several incidents throughout the week caused school officials to postpone Thursday’s basketball game against Okemos.
“It’s on my mind 24/7. I can’t walk into school without thinking I might get shot. It’s terrifying,” said East Lansing High School junior Lydia-Anne Ding-Mejok.
A large crowd walked out of the building just after 9:30 a.m.
6 News crews on the scene estimated that 150+ students participated in the initial walkout. In addition, several staff members were outside the school.
Students could be seen holding signs that said ‘Stop the Violence.’
Shortly after the walkout, the school went into another lockdown.
An official with East Lansing High School told 6 News the school went into a shelter-in-place at 10:51 a.m. but that has since been lifted.
“You’re not in a safe learning environment so you feel like you can’t perform to the best of your ability because you’re constantly worrying,” said student Tobias Vanderbush.
This latest event comes after the high school went into a lockdown on Tuesday when there were reports that someone may have brought a gun to school. The students had to shelter-in-place for almost two hours.
Parents began showing up outside the school on Tuesday because this lockdown was just one day after a school board meeting where faculty and students spoke out about how fearful they are after a series of violent incidents.
On Wednesday, East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon announced he will host a ‘listening session’ on Friday to discuss school and public safety.
