Spartan students hold 'Mountain Brook Movement to Change'
Walking into Mountain Brook High School on the morning of March 14, there was something slightly different.
Looking around, many students were dressed in black or dark colors, except for a selection of 18. They were wearing all white, symbolizing the 17 students and teachers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the student from Huffman High School who were recently killed in school shootings.
The 18, along with a large group of other students, gathered for an assembly called the Mountain Brook Movement to Change just before 10 a.m., exactly one month after the shooting in Parkland.
“Today starts the journey to improve school safety so students across the nation can learn safely,” said senior Nik Dworek, the student body president, in his opening remarks at the assembly.
The assembly was held in lieu of a walkout, which Dworek said many students had wanted to participate in as part of the nationwide movement. “I just felt like we could have done better with the opportunity that was given to us,” he said.
The students decided to work together to create the Mountain Brook Movement to Change. Everything was planned by students involved in the Student Government Association and the Heritage Panel with the approval and support of administration.
Dworek later mentioned the assembly was not part of the walkout movement that occurred in high schools nationwide on March 14, but explained it was designed to honor the movement, recognize the lives that were lost and spark student voices and engagement.
“Everyone here today is part of the human race, trying to accomplish the same thing,” Dworek said. “At a time when everything is one side or another, we forget the important part about democracy: working together.”
After a moment of silence, the 18 students dressed in white approached a vase at center stage with white tulips in memoriam of each of the 18 people who recently died. One by one, junior Kary Utomi read the names aloud along with a brief description of them:
- Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
- Scott Beigel, 35
- Martin Duque Anguiano, 14
- Nicholas Dworet, 17
- Aaron Feis, 37
- Jaime Guttenberg, 14
- Chris Hixon, 49
- Luke Hoyer, 15
- Cara Loughran, 14
- Gina Montalto, 14
- Joaquin Oliver, 17
- Alaina Petty, 14
- Meadow Pollack, 18
- Helena Ramsay, 17
- Alex Schachter, 14
- Carmen Schentrup, 16
- Peter Wang, 15
- Courtlin Arrington, 17
“Eighteen lives lost, 18 different goals and careers, 18 different possible futures — gone,” Utomi said during the assembly.
For some of the students representing faculty or students who had died, the ceremony hit home.
“Every single person in white, if we were in those people’s situations, we wouldn’t be here right now,” said Margot Midkiff, a junior. She presented a tulip during the ceremony and helped gather the group of students to partake in the assembly.
“This could be me. I’m representing this person; this could be me,” said senior Simona Shirley, reflecting on the significance of the ceremony. “And it’s not just 18 people — there are so many more people [who have been killed in school shootings].”
MBHS principal Amanda Hood said she was proud of what her students accomplished during their assembly.
“I really think today was symbolic of a generation finding their voice … It wasn’t about a political stunt. It was really, ‘How can we have the most influence?’” Hood said of the student’s actions.
Hood and the MBHS faculty leadership team worked closely with the students organizing it to help them define their goals of the assembly and focus on how to create a conversation with legislators. “And I’m really proud of the approach they took,” she said. “I think they really have the potential to create the opportunity for true dialogue.”
In addition to the assembly, members of the movement created stations throughout the school for students to write down and submit ideas to help create safer learning environments.
Senior Ellie Lipp said during the assembly that the ideas will hopefully be discussed through a panel with state lawmakers in the future. She also encouraged her fellow classmates to reach out and speak to one another, which was a recurring theme during the movement.
“One of the best ways to influence change is to be informed. Consider different viewpoints and broaden your perspective,” she said.
Sophomore Pavel Shirley, who spoke during the assembly as well, called this moment in time “unique.”
“Right now, we are in the center of a period with the greatest potential for change that any of us have seen in our lifetime, and possibly the greatest we will ever see again in our lives,” he said. “We are the future. Let’s make sure everyone knows that.”