Video by Tanner Holbrook, NewsLink Indiana
Little by little, some Muncie Central High School students left their third period class in remembrance of Parkland shooting victims.
They all followed behind MCHS senior, JaJuan Phillips, the organizer of the event, and gathered around the flag pole that stands in front of the building.
Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Scott Beigel, 35; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Aaron Feis, 37; Jamie 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; and Peter Wang, 15.
Every name and age was read before students took a moment of silence to remember each victim.
“We just thought what the march stood for was really important and that a lot of people could be impacted by it,” Phillips said.
Students then made their way back inside to the school auditorium where they sat for 17 minutes and heard from classmates and community leaders.
"This just isn't on us. This is on you, too. You guys have to be big part of this force," said Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley.
Dudley said the biggest step students can take in order to do their part is report anything that doesn't look right.
"It's going to take all of us as a group to make sure everybody's safe. So we're going to do our part, the school districts gonna do their part, and we need all the kids to do their part," Dudley said.
MCS has seen two idle threats — threats that don't specifically outline a plan, but point to possible plans — since the shooting in Parkland, Florida. However, Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle said he doesn't want students to be scared.
"I want you to know that you don't need to be scared anymore. We've had a lot of things happening, it's all in the media, we read about it, but you should not be scared to come to your school," Winkle said.
Phillips said students aren't scared because of the security measures MCHS has in place.
"At Central, we're not scared to be here. We have a real friendly environment with the teachers and even the security officers," Phillips said. "So, we do feel safe here at Central because we know the doors lock and we always have somebody at the front."
Contact Mary Freda with comments at mafreda@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @Mary_Freda1.
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