Organizers of a walkout planned for Friday said students at Champaign high schools are being forced to choose between participating in the civic demonstration around gun violence and attending prom. The walkout and subsequent events planned at the Independent Media Center in Urbana are part of a nationwide day of action around gun violence on April 20 — the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting.
Students from eight high schools in the Champaign-Urbana area will stage a demonstration Saturday to call for stronger gun control measures. The protest is one of hundreds of similar events happening across the country, including Washington D.C., under the moniker “March For Our Lives.”
The second of two open house-style 'town hall' meetings over the future of Champaign Unit 4's facilities brought out a lighter crowd than the previous one, but a mostly enthusiastic response to supporting a bond issue of around $200 million this fall. Around 50 attended Thursday's event at Centennial High School.
The Champaign School Board now holds options on eight sites near Central High School, which doesn't mean Unit 4 will necessarily purchase the properties, but has an 18-month window to decide. An advisory committee is being formed that will meet almost weekly, discussing possible expansion in the area, with a report due in May.
Laurie Bonnett's last meeting with the Champaign School Board is Monday. The former Unit Four board president, who's moving out of town, says she hopes to see a more collaborative strucuture in the future of school facilities, and believes the board can benefit from the high rate of turnover of late, bringing new and innovative ideas.
