Students Demand Action Walkout Activation Toolkit

What

We should not have to be afraid of gun violence in our schools, places of worship, work, or in our homes, worrying about whether or not a bullet will shatter our futures and fracture our communities. We’re sick and tired of inaction from our elected officials to protect our lives and our ability to actually feel safe in our classrooms and communities. Firearms are already the number one killer of children, teens (ages 1 to 19), and college-aged people in the United States—when will ENOUGH be ENOUGH for our legislators?

• Are you planning a walkout? Register your walkout here.

Who

Students Demand Action Leaders and Members, Teachers, School Staff, Parents, Everyone.

Where

Your school!

Why

Know why you are walking out. Here are some reasons.

• No one should be scared to go to school. Schools are for learning, not for worrying about getting shot. We need Congress to ban assault weapons; our lawmakers have a chance RIGHT NOW to pass an assault weapon and high-capacity magazine ban.
• Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (ages 1 to 19) in the United States. Our generation has been forced to grow up living in fear of gunfire ringing out in our schools, neighborhoods, shopping malls, and in so many other places across our communities that should be safe.
• We’re supposed to be in school to learn and hang out with our friends, not practicing lockdowns or hiding under desks. Every time a shooting happens, it’s a reminder that our schools aren’t safe.
• Even when it’s not happening at our school, we live with the fear that it could. Lockdowns, hoaxes, and false alarms all make it harder to focus, harder to feel safe, and it’s affecting our mental health.
• There is no justification for how school shootings have continued in America when we have the solutions to prevent these tragedies from happening.
• There’s no reason a person would own this kind of firearm if their intent wasn’t to cause mass harm. That’s why we’re calling on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban once and for all. 
• We won’t accept inaction when it comes to protecting our right to live. We deserve more than that, and if our cries for safety fall on deaf ears, you won’t stop hearing from us. We’ll keep testifying, we’ll keep marching, and we’ll certainly keep voting to remove anti-gun safety politicians from office.
• We are walking out of our schools to make sure lawmakers know that we need gun safety at all levels. We know this work takes all of us, and that’s why we are continuing to fight to make sure that when we walk into school, we are guaranteed to walk out. 
• CALL TO ACTION: We cannot allow this crisis to continue. America needs to ban assault weapons and ban high-capacity magazines now. Text BAN to 644-33 or download the Demand Action app to demand that your elected officials ban assault weapons.

How

1. Talk to your school administration

• Select a trusted teacher or counselor to talk to about why walking out is important to you. 
• Ask your administration to support your advocacy efforts. Your walkout isn’t targeted against the school administration. Your first priority is to work with them.

2. Register your walkout

3. Publicize and recruit students to participate.

• Create posters, post on social media, and spread the news by word of mouth.
• Use social media to connect with your classmates about the walkout. DM people, contact other school clubs, contact students at other schools. 
• Create a list of groups in your school, identify leaders in these groups, and ask them to join the group planning your walkout. This will help build support among a diverse set of your peers.
  • Student Government — they can get the word out and build support.
  • Cultural Student Associations (i.e., Black Student Unions) — key to ensuring that all communities feel represented in your action and the messaging around it. 
  • Student organizations related to gun violence — they’ve been doing the organizing work for a while and can often connect you to speakers and help tailor calls to action.

Social graphic template

Social story template

Print flyer template

4. Safety

• Make sure you’re aware of safety protocols at your school! Have conversations with peers and trusted adults to help determine best practices that take into account the safety of all students. If walking outside is not a safe option, then consider walking out into hallways, congregating in your school gym, or simply standing up in your classroom for an allotted amount of time. 

5. Know your rights

• Review the ACLU: Know Your Rights: Student Walkouts and Protests at School

6. At your walkout

Stop whatever you’re doing and simply walk out — into the hallway, out of your school building, whatever feels right to you.

• You can circle your school holding hands
• You can stage your walkout in your school’s hallway
• You can hold a lie-in on school grounds
• Get creative — or any other action that makes sense for you and your community.
• Wear orange to show solidarity. Orange is the color of the gun violence prevention (GVP) movement.
• Encourage people to make signs. Potential language includes:
  • ENOUGH
  • Gun Violence is #1 Killer of Kids & Teens in America
  • Protect Children Not Guns 
  • I want to read books not eulogies 
  • I should be worry about my SATs — NOT MY LIFE 
  • Never again
  • Don’t shoot 
  • Ni uno más.  
  • Let this be the last mass shooting generation
  • When will enough be enough?
  • If not now, when?
  • Don’t be silent, end gun violence
  • Don’t Look Away
  • We Deserve More than Thoughts and Prayers
• Include this CALL TO ACTION:  It’s going to take all of us to make gun laws safer across the country. We’re fed up with gun violence, and we’re going to do something about it. Text STUDENTS to 644-33 to demand that your elected officials ban assault weapons.
• Here are some chants you can use!
  • Enough is enough 
  • Don’t shoot
  • No More Silence, end gun violence
  • Hey hey, ho ho, Assault Weapons have got to go
  • Vote them out
• Crowd call and response
  • Call: No more silence—
    Response: End gun violence!
  • Call: Show me what democracy looks like!
    Response: This is what democracy looks like!
  • Call: The people—
    Response: United! Will never be defeated!
  • Call: Protect kids, not guns!
    Response: Protect kids, not guns!
  • Call: We march, we vote, we organize—
    Response: We won’t be terrorized!
  • Call: How many more?
    Response: No more!
  • Call: Enough is enough!
    Response: Enough is enough!
  • Call: Hey hey! Ho ho!
    Response: Gun violence has got to go!
  • Call: Books not bullets!
    Response: Books not bullets!

Planning Checklist

Before your walkout

• Select a trusted teacher or counselor to talk to about why walking out is important to you. 
• Ask your administration to support your advocacy efforts. Your walkout isn’t targeted against the school administration. Your first priority is to work with them.
• If you have time, organize a team at your school to help you with details — give them specific roles (i.e. media coordinator/volunteer coordinator/ advertisement/etc.) Include all grades in the organization of your walkout to represent solidarity within the school.
• Create a walkout plan 
  • Decide where you are walking out: a hallway, athletic field, etc. Think about creating a safe and accessible route for students.
• Submit your walkout to the Students Demand Action event form
• Create an advertising plan & act on it
  • Social Media: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter
  • Personal Instagram Stories and Snapchat 
  • Word of mouth 
  • Fliers/posters/etc. 
  • Encourage people to wear orange clothing
  • Media Outreach 
    • Contact the journalism and yearbook club/class
    • Contact any local news stations to cover the event
• Recruit volunteers to help with poster making, ribbon cutting, ushering people to walkout site, designated photographer and videographer/someone to livestream on social media
• Confirm the items you need (posters, megaphone, etc.) 
• Make sure everyone is bringing what they’re responsible for and doing their specific jobs
  • Optional: make orange ribbons
  • Optional: make posters
  • Optional: prepare speeches 
• Educate students about their rights 

On the day of the walkout

• Get to school early to go over your walkout plan and/or hand out ribbons and posters
  • Leave class slightly earlier to ensure things are prepared 
  • Speak passionately 
  • Celebrate that you made an impact
• Share the Call to Action
• Post your walkout on social media & tag us:
  • Instagram: @StudentsDemand
  • TikTok: @StudentsDemand
  • Text: STUDENTS to 644-33 to join the movement