76 Bluffton High students walked out. 'It's about time people start taking us seriously'

About 6.5 percent of Bluffton High School's 1,169 student body went against Beaufort County School District's wishes Wednesday morning and walked out of school, joining thousands of students across the country in a 17-minute nationwide walkout held on the one-month anniversary of a suburban Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people.

All told, 84 Beaufort County public school students walked out of school Wednesday morning, with 76 from Bluffton High, four from Beaufort High, three from Hilton Head Island Middle and one from May River High. No students walked out of Hilton Head Island High, Battery Creek High or Whale Branch Early College High, according to district spokesman Jim Foster.

The event sparked controversy in Beaufort County School District when superintendent Jeff Moss and other district officials discouraged students from walking out, citing safety concerns.

Some students say they felt their First Amendment rights were being limited by the alternatives principals offered in lieu of leaving campus.

Bluffton High sophomore Ami Hughey is leading the charge at Bluffton High. Advocating for metal detectors in schools, she has become the face of the movement since she scribbled phrases such as, "The district is trying to silence us" on the walls of all 12 school bathrooms. The honors student faces criminal charges for the vandalism.

On Wednesday around 9:30 a.m., Hughey's mom signed her out of first period, Advanced Placement Capstone, a college-level course, and she walked across the street to the sidewalk near Lowcountry Community Church.

She and two other students say Moss told students they could not gather in the school parking lot and had to cross the street or else potentially face loitering charges. School district officials deny the students' account of this, which took place in a meeting last week.

At five minutes to 10, a dozen students stood shivering on the sidewalk across from Bluffton High. It was around 45 degrees and few students wore coats.

A group of eight students began their trek across the parking lot and the group cheered. Hugs were exchanged.

Another student came across the street.

"Whooo," Ami yelled and so did others.

Eight more students trickled out from the school, where two Bluffton Police Department officers stood directing traffic.

Ami yelled "Welcome" to them from across the street, waving her sign in the air. It read: "We won't stop until legislation listens."

Five more, then two dozen more. It was nearly 10 a.m. now.

"Wow, you're all amazing and so brave," Ami yelled out to them as she gestured them over to her growing group.

Students picked up signs Ami had worked on over the past few weeks.

Student Lexi Twitchell held a sign that read, "Fear has no place in our schools." A boy held a black poster with white painted words: "Am I next?"

Asked how many students she expected to join her, Ami said, "Not this many. Maybe 15?"

"It's about time people start taking us seriously," junior Priscilla Jean said. She expected 20 to 30 students.

Eight more students crossed the street.

"Welcome, you brave souls," Ami shouted.

Six more stragglers joined the group at 10:04 a.m. The majority of students wore maroon, the school color of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.

Chattering amongst themselves, several snapped photos. A few said they were on Facebook Live and waved their cell phone around to capture the crowd size.

"Is someone going to make a statement or something?" one asked.

The students stirred, then looked to Ami. She clutched a folded-up piece of paper with 17 names in her chapped hands.

She recited each victim's name and age, then looked up. "This is why we're here. This is what we stand for."

The crowd started chanting, "No more students' lives! No more students' lives."

A sizable group of adults — including parents, community members from Lowcountry Indivisible and the Bluffton MLK Observance Committee and Town of Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka — stood in solidarity with the students.

One parent's sign: Protect children, not guns. Another's read: A dead student can't be taught.

Bluffton High senior and student body president Desiree Bailey said her mother asked her Wednesday morning if she needed to be signed out. Bailey declined, even though students walking out without parent permission face a variety of punishments, including an in-school suspension.

"If Martin Luther King can be jailed, I can get an in-school suspension," Bailey said. "I expected to be one of six students here. This is incredible."

Another chant began: "Moss must go!"

Sophomore Caroline Nelson didn't plan to walk out of school Wednesday. But the "brief" moment of silence over the loudspeaker was too brief for her.

She, and 13 others, walked out around 10:08 a.m.

"It wasn't even a minute," Nelson said. "That's why I walked out."

She said she was the only one to leave from her economics class.

Freshman Dillon Watkins wanted to stand in the hallway for 17 minutes to "pay (his) respects." But following the short silence over the loudspeaker, he said his biology teacher gave him two options: go back to class or walk outside. So he joined the walkers.

A final chant — "We will not be silent!" — was yelled before students walked back to school.

Another walkout is planned for April 20 to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

In the month between now and then, Ami and others say they will write to local, state and federal lawmakers.

If nothing changes, Ami said, "We'll be back here."

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 1:39 PM with the headline "76 Bluffton High students walked out. 'It's about time people start taking us seriously'."