Ron Rittenhouse/Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown High School students made it clear they support their teachers by staging a walkout Wednesday afternoon.
“Teachers deserve what they’re asking for,” Seth Dorkins, 15, said.
It was a high energy atmosphere as roughly 200 students cheered whenever another student walked out the front doors of MHS and across the street to stand with their peers.
The entire walkout lasted about an hour before students went back inside at the urging of teachers, Nicholas Chaffines, 17, said.
“Teachers were saying it might actually hurt their cause,” he said. “We want to stand with them no matter what.”
“We stand with teachers. We stand against Charleston,” one student shouted.
Principal Paul Mahalko said he appreciates the student’s concern for issues across the country and the walkout shows that students are knowledgeable about what is going on in society and want to see change.
In addition to standing in solidarity with their teachers, some students cited gun violence as part of the reason they walked out, though no student forgot to mention teachers.
Olivia Monteleon, 16, said that the decision to stage a walkout was not made by one person.
“It’s the whole school doing something,” she said. “It’s everyone making the decision at the same time.”
Monongalia County Schools Superintendent Frank Devono said he anticipated students taking action over national issues in the future, but Wednesday’s walkout was a surprise.
He credited the students for being respectful and said most students walked out during lunch, though he heard some students did leave class to participate – an action he couldn’t condone saying students need to hold their education precious.
Mahalko said he was unable to say if any students who walked out would be disciplined.
Sam Brunett, president of the Mon County chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said he appreciated the community support, but education needs to come first. He also noted that a similar action happened in Logan County.
“We’re starting to see students empowered over issues that affect them,” Devono said. “Students recognize the fact that without fair compensation good teachers could leave.”
Austen Westfall, 15, is one such student. He said legislators are being unfair to all the people who work hard for their money, such as teachers and state employees.
This story will appear in the Dominion Post, written by William Dean.