Will Carmel be participating in this nationwide walkout?

Yes, we will.

What is the walkout protesting?

So this walkout is a part of a national Free America protest, which protests the recent actions of the Trump administration, including the invasion in Venezuela and the shooting of a woman in Minnesota, as well as the other attacks on civil liberties committed. The date is symbolic with it being Jan. 20. It’s exactly one year after (President Donald) Trump was inaugurated.

Can you take me step-by-step through what the walkout will look like?

So on the day, the plan (will take place) between G3 and G4. Right as D lunch ends at 2:25 p.m., we are going to walk to Door 21, walk out the same door and gather there. Once we have all of our people, we are going to march toward the City Hall so that they hear our voices, because that’s a big issue, especially in Indiana, with our representatives and our senators and all of our people not hearing what their constituents’ concerns actually are. The scariest thing is, everyone thinks of Indiana as a solid red state. It’s not. It’s a swing state. It’s split, and it’s now a focus of the Democratic Party of flipping Indiana. We’re going to see if we can have any impact on that.

What does this walkout mean to you personally?

(It means that I’m) standing up, finally. I have talked for (such a long time) about this. If you ask any of my friends, they’ll tell you I’ve talked for so long about trying to make a change and standing up and doing something, but I haven’t actually done anything. I’m tired of just sitting around waiting for something to happen that I can join. So I’m starting it (at this school), and I’m not wasting any more time.

If there were any students who would be concerned about joining the walkout for fear of repercussions, what would you say to them?

Under Indiana’s state law and the United States constitution, schools cannot punish students any more than what their punishment would be for skipping school. The normal punishment, I believe, is just an in-school suspension. If you’re concerned about the office punishing students who participate, the school has a process in place for parents to sign out their students for any sort of absence. If students do not follow the process in place, they could be subject to school discipline. The last time (this school) did a walkout like this was in 2018, and during that walkout, the school did not (administer) any punishments (that I know of).