Theresa Messenger ’18, Co-editor
More than 100 LVC students gathered on Wednesday, March 14, to participate in the nationwide school walkout in remembrance of the 17 Florida high school students who were victims of gun violence last month.
Seventeen people were killed and 15 wounded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl. on February 14, when an ex-student opened fire on school grounds. Since then, students from Douglas and others across the nation have spoken out against recent acts of gun violence in schools.
At LVC, the Feminist Collective and the Women’s Services and Gender Resource Center organized the school walkout on campus and encouraged students to participate.
“We knew it was our duty to support these survivors and to honor and remember the victims of gun violence,” Gabby Cressman, a sophomore economics major, said. “We hope to encourage students, faculty and community members to use their voices, to vote and to participate in their local, state and national government. We also hope to provide support to the local families who have lost family members due to gun violence.”
Students locally, nationally and internationally organized walkouts as activists and voices of the #enough movement to honor victims of gun violence. The motivation behind some of those involved is to seek change in the nation’s gun laws and safety precautions.
“I want to see gun reform,” Cressman said. “The atrocities like we saw in Parkland, Florida in February, and the several before this should never happen again. Gun violence has impeded students’ freedom of education, especially in communities of color. It is time that we take the necessary actions to keep schools safe so that we can equip students with the power of education.”
Student organizers who were involved with the Women’s March this past January led the organized walkout from the steps of the Frederic K. Miller Chapel where they observed a moment of silence, spoke on the movement and invited the campus community to share their thoughts.
“I attended the walkout because I believe in the power of people standing together to show support for the victims of gun violence and demand that something is done to prevent this from happening again,” Casey Burke, a junior exercise science major, said. “I trust that change will happen and that it begins with us.”
Before the walkout, organizers met with faculty to coordinate the details of the event and outline the objectives. In addition, the faculty was sent an email regarding flexibility of excusal of absences as stated in the College Catalog for events like the walkout.
The organizers and participants said they felt fortunate to come together to represent something greater than themselves and hope to be part of the change.