Students at dozens of schools in Virginia walked out of their classes on Monday as part of an abortion rights demonstration.
At McLean High School, they held up signs and chanted.
"I wanted to organize this to remind people to continue to show up," McLean High School Senior Leah Siegel said.
"I’ve always been passionate about women’s rights and gender equality. You gotta do what you gotta do. You have to speak out or you won’t be heard," McLean High School Senior Charlie Clayton said.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
"As a cisgender male, it’s my responsibility to stand up and support the women who have done so much to support me," McLean High School Senior Atticus Gore said.
The youth organization Generation Ratify Virginia helped organize protests at 45 schools around the state.
Each walkout lasted about half an hour.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
"It feels really great because I didn’t expect that many people to show up, because there are exams, people are in class, and it’s great to see people show up," Siegel said.
During the past week, some students also protest against abortion.
"[We've been] tabling on campus, having conversations with our peers about the issue of abortion," said Hannah Wolfe, with Students for Life of America.
Some have started calling themselves the “post Roe generation.”
"It’s been very interesting to see how everything plays out, but we’re just looking forward to the actual official decision coming out whenever it does," Wolfe said.
Back at McLean High School, students say they’re grateful for the chance to gather and come together for a cause.
"It’s really, really exciting to see how the social media out-roar that we saw earlier this week actually carries over into civic action," Gore said.
The group Generation Ratify Virginia said it's planning to hold more walkouts at schools on Thursday.
