A group known as Youth Against War and Racism currently is encouraging Twin Cities area high school students to walk out of their classes Wednesday to protest the war in Iraq and military recruitment in schools, according to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

School officials have told students they may receive failing grades if they walk out of classes on Wednesday unexcused. The walkout coincides with many districts’ end-of-quarter finals. However, students will not receive failing grades if they have a note from a parent excusing them from class.

While it is important for students to participate in public discussions about the war in Iraq, a walkout is not the right way to do it.

While they have been a popular form of protest for years, walkouts, including this one, tend to attack the wrong group. In this case, students are protesting the war in Iraq, but in the process are disrupting the school day and disrespecting their teachers.

Protests should fit the cause. A school walkout to protest the war in Iraq doesn’t fit. Options that would show protest better may be that students wear armbands or T-shirts expressing their beliefs. Or perhaps they could hold demonstrations before and after school.

If a walkout is the method of choice, a better option for everyone involved would be to require students to submit an essay to be excused for the walkout. Students should have to think critically about their actions and justify the walkout. An essay would allow administrators to see the rationale for students wanting to leave school, rather than concluding that students simply want to cut classes. It also would make the walkout an educational experience for the students rather than simply a skip day.

However, students should realize that in the end, the walkout will have little impact, especially in tackling a national issue. Protests of this nature are better suited to local issues where local attention will be better received.