Are Walkouts Effective?

As people may know, there was a recent walkout that happened at this school. They walked out due to the lack of action the administration did to prevent and take care of sexual harassment. They saw this as a way to make their voices heard and to make a statement on what they believe in. The question is, are these walkouts efficient? 

Walkouts have been happening since the 1830’s due to the economic circumstances during the Industrial Revolution. Most women worked in factories, but many factories back then began cutting their wages and increasing prices on housing. This resulted in the first walkout in February 1834. This walkout wasn’t as organized so it wasn’t very successful. 2 years later the same problems arose and the ladies decided to take matters into their own hands once again. They organized another walkout that was more successful and forced the mills to cooperate due to the lack of workers. 

Ever since then, walkouts became a popular way of non-violent protesting. The First Amendment speaks on how peaceful protesting is legal so many people have used this to their advantage. Maybe a little too much. A couple of years ago at Neil Armstrong Middle School, seventh-graders decided to do a walkout to free a rapper named SixNine. He committed multiple and terrible crimes so he rightfully deserved to get convicted for those crimes. Obviously, this is an example of a poor reason to have a walkout. I do agree that walkouts are helpful to bring attention to important subjects and have people, especially teens, get their voices to be heard. However, at some point (like the one at Neil Armstrong), people end up abusing this privilege. 

An example of a more productive walkout is the one that happened at Forest Grove High School in 2016. Students decided to gather and protest because of a banner that was displayed that stated, “Build a wall.” They took a stand for the lack of unity that the high school had. This walkout allowed the problem to get addressed and figured out. Articles were posted and the word was spread. After this walkout, the high school put in the effort to make that change. They held assemblies like Breaking Down the Walls which gave people closure and allowed the high school to become more united. 

In conclusion, this right given to us as Americans to peacefully protest has led to good and bad outcomes. It has been abused but has also allowed this nation’s voice to be heard in a more powerful way than it has before. Although one walkout will not solve a problem or issue in a community or society it allows the problem to be addressed. It brings attention to societal matters and conflicts and brings people together to try and come up with solutions that mend many people’s complaints.