Change Starts With Us
Photo by Lestyn Park, staff photographer
March 16, 2018
On February 14th of 2018 a mass shooting occurred at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This made it the 18th school shooting of 2018. Yes, 18th. 17 people died that day. These are their names; Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Peter Wang.
Following the school shooting, the students of Stoneman Douglas High School decided that enough was enough. They took it to social media to begin to demand change. Some students even got to come face to face with politicians to demand the much needed change. The students have been asking the politicians enough with the condolences–stricter gun laws are what is needed! Children cannot keep dying at the hands of guns. Many rallies have been held in protest of gun laws. On March 14th, a month since the school shooting had occurred, a national walkout for 17 minutes was held.
Our very own students here at Pinole gathered at 10 am on the football field to take part in the movement. We got to hear many moving speeches from our very own Yassna Ahmadi, founder and president of the Political Revolution Club at school that organized the walkout, along with speeches from Annett Tamayo and Alajah Burns. Students stood outside and listened to powerful words from our fellow Spartans and gave 17 minutes of silence in memory of the victims of the Parkland shooting despite the rain and hail we encountered.
We are the future. Change starts with us. Our voices will be heard, we will not be silenced. We will continue to rally. We will do whatever it takes to make sure that change is made. We as students should not fear for our lives everyday at the place that is giving us our education. We should not have to run from guns. We will not stop until there are stricter gun laws that don’t make it so easy for the average person to purchase a military gun in 30 minutes. We will not stop until background checks are required for each and every gun that is purchased. We will not stop until students can once again feel safe in their classrooms. We will continue to call out lawmakers and those in power until serious change is made. We are the change.
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Carol Phelps • Mar 19, 2018 at 8:15 am
Good for you! Taking action on gun violence is long over-due. Some of us have cared about this issue for many years, but our voices always got drowned by the NRA and gun-lovers and fear-mongers who believe that the answer to danger is more guns, not less guns or more controls on the guns out there already. But maybe the legislators and political leaders will listen to some passionate teens like you guys. As some of the rally slogans have said, “This is what democracy looks like” and “We vote next”. Don’t give up. Change on this one won’t happen easily. (But think how far we’ve come on other issues. When I was your age, the tobacco industry was king, and in every workplace, every restaurant, and every form of public transportation, lots of people smoked and everyone else had to breathe that smoke. I remember feeling embarrassed that my parents had the gall to object when people smoked beside them. Look at the limitations on smoking in public places now!)
Coach • Mar 16, 2018 at 6:25 pm
Great article! I am proud of all of the Spartans that embrace their opportunity to affect change and influence among today’s the youth. You guys are all the future!