MVHS Students Hold Memorial Service Instead of a Walk-Out

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

While many students around the United States chose to walk out of school in protest on March 14, students at Moapa Valley High School chose something better. Instead of inciting riots or causing unrest as happened in some parts of the country, local students chose to honor both teachers and students who lost their lives in the tragic school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14.

A special memorial service was organized by members of the MVHS Student Council. All students were invited to attend the service which was held in the school auditorium.

Student Council members had worked hard and prepared to make sure the event was both solemn and poignant.
“We felt that just walking out didn’t really accomplish anything,” said MVHS student body president Kasen Kolhoss. “We wanted a proper and appropriate place to honor and recognize the students and teachers who lost their lives and we thought this would be a fitting tribute.”

Student Council Member Abby Rose added, “We really wanted to humanize what happened and honor them.”

The event began with a slide show that briefly displayed a picture of each victim, captioned with their name and some unique traits that each was known for.

The room, fully packed with around 500 students, was silent throughout the service. Students recognized the solemnity of the occasion. As each new slide filled the screen, a student came to the stage and quietly lit a candle in that victim’s honor.

When the slideshow finished, MVHS sophomore Abigail Dursteler came to the stage and sang a rendition of “Amazing Grace” with piano accompaniment by band and orchestra teacher Kim Delgadillo.
MVHS teacher Dallas Larsen then spoke to the students.

Larsen remarked in amazement at the amount of talent that walks down school halls every day.
“We have so many talented people here,’ Larsen said. “But we are all unique and that makes each one of us very special indeed. None of us are the same and none of us are replaceable.”

Larsen urged students to celebrate the talents around them. Instead of letting differences pull them apart, they should use their uniqueness to bind together, he said.
“There are two ways to exert our strength,” Larsen added. “We can either push something down or pull it up. How much better would we be if we used our talents to pull each other up and become more unified?”

Larsen went on to urge the students to begin today to make their classroom a better place. Then, as they continue on, the school, community and perhaps even the nation would improve.
“We can celebrate each other and go out and make this world a better place one person at a time,” he concluded.

Students were touched by the service and grateful for the opportunity it presented them.
“I thought it was really well put together,” said sophomore, Emily Leigh. “I like how they pointed out the difference that we can make in the world if we just help and support each other.”

Student council member Alyson Evans concluded, “I like that it paid respects to the students and the teachers who gave their lives to protect them. There are so many teachers here that would do the same thing for us, so it’s nice to be able to show that we can stand as a country and stand as a school and be united.”