Nothing beats student activism. For years, it has been a struggle to get students and young adults to vote, with a historically low participation rate of 46.1 percent for 18-29 year olds in the 2016 presidential election.

So why is everyone complaining now? In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas shooting, student activists on both side of the political spectrum have begun to speak out, both against party agendas and each other.

On Apr. 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre, hundreds of students chose to walk out of their classrooms at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes and peacefully protest.

Reasons for student participation varied, but all were related to the honor of victims of mass shootings and a desire to change current gun legislation, both at state and federal levels.

What is great about walkouts like these is the way they allow students to make their voices truly heard, which can be difficult for minors. Rather than just spouting their opinions online, it allows these young advocates to become advocates for change; to mobilize and become active participants in real-life politics, on issues that really matter to them.

But for all the students walking out for the right reason, there’s always a few who do it for the wrong reasons: violence, truancy, and even vandalism. The walkout was just an excuse to get out of class, to see friends, and to mess around. Any amount of time outside of class is time well-spent.

And there’s no denying walkouts can and will be a disruption, especially to the students who choose not to participate. Even though our rights as students were protected in the famous Tinker v. Des Moines case, one might argue school is no place for political movements and protests to take place.

We come to school to learn and grow, not demonstrate our political beliefs.

The question many who are not walking out will ask is as follows: Why should my education be put on hold for a political movement I choose not to participate in?

And why should it?

While yes, it is for a noble and important cause, 17 minutes won’t hurt anybody, right? That is over a quarter of class time that could be used for valuable instruction. For the student who just does not quite grasp the concept, for the student who will not have internet access at home, for the student who works from after school to ten p.m. and won’t have time for both homework and a decent sleep.

It is not that we are for gun violence, for the deaths of the hundreds of students since Sandy Hook who have died in the same way, or even necessarily for military-grade arms and ammunition.

We’re just for our education, for the arguments on both sides, and for the Bill of Rights, and not for compromising on any of our rights guaranteed to us by it.

On Apr. 20, 2018, students across the country planned to step up and walk out, continuing the conversation on gun violence that has followed the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. At Perry, hundreds of students left their classrooms to voice their opinions for a myriad of reasons, ranging anywhere from frustrations with current gun legislation, continual awareness of mass shootings, and the most prevalent made clear by the 17 minutes of silence observed by all students walking out: to honor the Parkland shooting victims.

This showcase of student activism is inspiring. People our age are taking an active role in politics. Rather than just sitting and watching this unfold, our generation is organizing marches, movements, and walkouts. We have shattered every stereotype as the generation of kids so caught up in their phones to know what is happening in the real world, proving that — like our Vietnam-protesting grandparents — we are still passionate and aware enough to get involved in things that matter. We are rolling our sleeves up, and getting to work for what we believe in.

Walkouts like these are vital. They get students involved on a mass scale, uniting them under a common goal. They allow young people to voice their opinion in a healthy, constructive way, rather than just venting about it on social media. Now, students can actually do something about their complaints, and become apart of the movement for change. Young people are still able to support the causes they believe in, even if they are not yet a part of the voting population. At a school, students can stand arm-and-arm with their peers, safely protesting while causing no harm to anyone else.

Despite the walkout being planned by PHS students, some still believe this walkout will only serve as a destructive disruption.

While there is no denying it will be a disruption, there is no reason it needs to be destructive. The 17 minutes of silence adds a reverence to the demonstration. This is not angry. This is not a chaotic showcase of chanting.This is a peaceful walkout. While it is absolutely sending a political message, and intentionally so, the root and the inspiration behind the walk-out comes from remembering those who have lost their lives at the hands of mass shootings. It is to remember. It is to reflect.

That is why it was scheduled on the anniversary of Columbine. That is why there was 17 minutes set aside. There is so much more to this walkout than just students getting out of class.

Four million 17-year-olds will turn 18 by the next election. These are the students who walked out. These are the ones painting signs and marching and vocalizing their thoughts. These are the students who have the power to change the course of entire elections, and they are coming. They are coming, they are marching, and they are walking out.

By Nov. 2018, they will be voting.