Marjory Stoneman Douglas Students Protest Mandated Clear Backpacks by Adding Meaningful Decorations
When the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, returned to class on Monday after a weeklong spring break, they were required to carry clear backpacks (distributed by the school district), enter the school via blocked-off sidewalks, and spend their schooldays surrounded by an increased number of armed police officers and security guards. Many students expressed their annoyance and frustration with the new policies on Twitter on Monday; among these tweets were several photos of the clear backpacks adorned with signs, buttons, and tags that symbolized the Parkland students' continued fight against gun violence.
"Thousands of clear backpacks were donated to MSD...it's a shame b/c they should've been given to a school that actually needs the supplies. But since we're stuck with them, I decided to make the most out of the situation & decorate!! 👊🏼#MarchForOurLives," Jaclyn Corin captioned photos of her new backpack, which has a March for Our Lives sign in the front pocket and a handful of protest buttons pinned to the straps. Carmen Lo shared a photo of her own bag, on which she wrote "This backpack is probably worth more than MY LIFE #neveragain." Carmen, Delaney Tarr, Sarah Chadwick, and others also attached "$1.05" price tags to their backpacks, referencing the amount of money some students, including Sarah, claim each of Florida's approximately 2.6 million students seem to be "worth" to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has received $3.3 million from the NRA, according to The New York Times.
Other students wrote protest statements on pieces of paper and slid them into their backpacks, where, of course, they're fully visible to everyone. Kyra Parrow tweeted a photo of another student's backpack, which held a sign reading "Clear backpacks are stupid." Lex Michael's own bag featured a sign that read, "This bag contains everything politicians care about besides money" — and the bag was empty.
And in what seems a show of support more than protest, Cameron Kasky filled his backpack with tampons, presumably to stand in solidarity with students who might feel anxious about having their own sanitary products fully visible in their see-through bags.
While many Parkland students also tweeted that their school was "starting to feel like a prison," some students of color noted that they felt specifically targeted by the new security regulations. "The police are making their own rules and are turning our school into a police state," Stoneman Douglas junior Kai Koerber told CNN last week. "Every day, students lose more and more freedoms at MSD. Students of color have become targets and white students have become suspects."
Kai continued, "Students of color, black and brown students, like myself have been racially profiled while we are on heightened alert, fearing the emergence of another Caucasian shooter." He added, "I would like to see us not only reclaim our school, but our right to privacy on campus. We do not welcome the militarization of MSD. It is terrible to see our school lose control over the protection of their students and their facilities."
Related: Black Marjory Stoneman Douglas Students Say Police at School Make Them "Feel Like Prisoners"
