Wisconsin High School Students Stage Walkout Over Fear Of Safety

Milwaukee students staged a walkout on Tuesday (November 9) because they did not feel safe.

According to WISN, students at Milwaukee's High School of the Arts say the reason for their walkout is to get the administrator's attention after their latest lockdown.

"We're scared. We're fearing for our lives," Damien Blair, a student, said.

WISN reported that after investigating, they discovered that within the past two months, Milwaukee police had been called to the school 20 times.

As students walked out, they chanted, "Our safety matters! Our safety matters! Our safety matters!"

Milwaukee Public Schools canceled the school resource officer program with MPD the past school year. "Today is the only day we've had Milwaukee Police Department come out. And you know MPS canceled their contract with the Milwaukee Police Department, so we're to the point where if nothing happens, they won't come out," Blair told WISN.

When asked what students fear, Katie, another student, said, "There have been multiple shooting threats and nothing done about it."

With the increased gun violence surrounding Milwaukee, students want every threat to be taken seriously.

"We live in a Milwaukee area where gun violence and gang activity is at high volume, so when certain threats are being told, we should not be taking this lightly. We should stomp on it immediately," Blair said.

Jayden, another student at Milwaukee's High School of the Arts, added that lockdowns occur often, "We go into lockdown every other week. Which is concerning,"

Milwaukee Public Schools released a statement following the walkout, "We take those concerns seriously and value the health and wellbeing of our students above all else."