Cherry Hill East students held a moment of silence for victims of the Parkland shooting at the 50-yard-line of the football field.
For the second consecutive day, students at Cherry Hill High School East left class in protest of the school district’s decision to place history teacher Timothy Locke on administrative leave after a discussion took place on the Parkland, Florida shooting and school security in his classroom last week.
Hundreds of students at Cherry Hill East walked out of the school building around 8 a.m. in protest against the decision. The walk out was the second consecutive day students left class in protest.
Senior Justin Tobolsky participated in today’s walkout and said, though he never had Locke as a teacher, he felt implored to support him and his students.
“I know many people who cherished him and aspired to be like him,” Tobolsky said. “From a human being perspective, he has a family to provide and support for, so to take away all that for a poor reason is outlandish to me.”
Junior Anthony Gambino, another walkout participant, is a student in Locke’s AP world history class and spoke highly of him.
“The walk-out and protests for a safer school was the message he was preaching to us in class the days following the Parkland shooting,” Gambino said in an email to The Sun. “He was my only teacher to address the shooting and that is a very sad fact. This man is hands down my favorite teacher ever and I’m telling you that no other teacher could generate this type of response from the students.”
As part of the walkout, students gathered at the 50-yard-line of the football field and had a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting in Parkland. Gambino said it was the first moment of silence they had following the shooting at the school.
“The atmosphere afterwards was electric because we were all in sync and chanted together for our teachers,” Tobolsky said. “ The actual moment of silence, however, was emotional. No one wants to go through a tragedy like that, and I think it made us stop and think for a moment how lucky we are to be here and how much we take for granted.”
Gambino added the protest wasn’t just about Locke, but also a plea to school official to take action and improve the school’s security.
“All in all, us students felt it was time to make sure our voices were heard and to demand change of the security systems and the reinstatement of one of the most beloved men to ever walk the halls of East,” he said.
The walkout ended at about 9:30 a.m. when principal Dennis Perry directed students to go to the auditorium for a discussion. A similar discussion took place on Monday when students engaged in a sit-in protest inside the school.
A few hours after the walkout, Cherry Hill Public Schools superintendent Joe Meloche released a letter to the community about the student demonstrations. Meloche said he was asked during a previously scheduled community conversation meeting on the evening of Feb. 26 if he would support Tuesday’s student walkout at Cherry Hill East.
“I responded that I support students’ efforts to make their voices heard in a safe manner and asked that the students instead conduct their demonstration inside the school in the interest of safety,” Meloche wrote in the letter.
Later in the letter, Meloche states that “Walkouts are a deviation to our school’s standard supervision and safety procedures. As a result, walkouts possess the potential of creating an unsafe situation for participants. Planning and providing for a collective and structured voice, while still maintaining a safe and structured learning environment, will be a component of the upcoming conversations.”
Meloche said district officials will continue the conversation and safety, security and the student voice. Meloche also asked students to seek out guidance and resources in speaking about the Parkland shooting.
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