1,100 Downers Grove students get detentions over National Walkout Day

About 1,100 students at two high schools in Downers Grove will serve hourlong detentions for participating in this week’s National Walkout Day to protest gun violence.

Students at Downers Grove North and South High Schools can serve their detentions before or after school on weekdays or on Saturdays. Community High School District 99 spokeswoman Jill Browning said the detentions were given after school officials met with students before Wednesday’s walkout and offered alternatives “that would not disturb the educational environment.”

Browning said students have said they consider the detentions “a ‘badge of honor’ and a symbol they truly are protesting and standing up for their rights at a personal cost.”

The nationwide walkouts were planned after a gunman killed 17 students in February at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

Browning said 3,900 students remained in class during the walkout.