The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) walkout that took place last November was by far the most impressive event I have witnessed during my time at Wilson. It made the local news, and was part of a larger movement within school districts that reached national headlines. Unfortunately, recent walkouts have been less impactful, failing to draw the same number of participants as the first.

Since last November, there have been two more walkouts, one to raise awareness for missing girls in DC and the other to protest the repeal of DACA. However, these walkouts were not nearly as successful as the first. “In the end, (these walkouts) didn’t make the political impact that we were hoping for,” said Mikaela Woods, co-leader of Commonground at Wilson, who helped organize last november’s walkout.

Walking out can be extremely effective, but only if used in moderation. Participation in last November’s walkout was so high because it harnessed energy in a way that no one had ever seen before: it was contagious and sparked interest across DC.

This energy was simply not present at either of the two later walkouts. As a result, they had low turnout and were not as effective as they could have been.

This is not to say that missing girls and the rescinding of DACA are not incredibly important causes that deserve to be protested. However, these protests could have been more effective in forms other than a walkout. “At some point you lose your effectiveness if you walk out all the time,” Instructional Coach David Thompson said.

Both DC and Wilson provide students plenty of ways to voice their opinion when something controversial occurs. Join Common Ground or the Human Rights club. Talk to your councilmember. Participate in protests with groups like the Women’s March and Black Lives Matter. And every now and then, when something monumental happens, walk out of school.

The next three and a half years are going to give us lots of reasons to be upset. Our age and inability to vote makes it all the more important that we find other ways to make our voices heard. We did it last November, and if we vary our forms of protest a little more, we can continue to be as powerful as possible. But this cannot happen if the only answer to controversy is to walk out of school.