TURNERS FALLS — After the Parkland, Fla., shooting, students across the nation have taken it upon themselves to call for change to keep themselves and their peers safe.
Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School are no different.
Concern for school safety reverberated throughout the student community as the youths realized a school shooting could happen anywhere, anytime. “Students Take a Stand” was formed at Turners Falls High School shortly after the Parkland shooting for students to address anti-violence and school safety issues among themselves.
The group allows middle and high school students to share opinions and ideas on how to make their school safer. Students emphasized that the group does not want all guns taken away; they just want to figure out how to make their school safer, and in turn, make other schools across the country safer.
Approximately a dozen high school and middle school students are in the group, but more have signed up to join.
Ninth-grader Haley Bastarache said she jumped at the chance to join Students Take a Stand.
“It’s important to do something,” she said.
David Smith, a high school social studies teacher, advises the group and acts as a mediator. However, he mostly lets the students talk among themselves and acts as a sounding board for ideas.
“There are lots of different opinions, and it’s good opportunity to listen to different sides,” Smith said of the group. “They collaborate so well.”
He encouraged a “local and national approach” to help everyone become safer, and wants the students to learn what other schools are doing for safety measures.
“I think it’s time to have kids under 18 vote,” Smith said. “(It’s important) when it’s kids lives at stake.”
Ideas for a group started to form as Smith’s students began gun control discussions in social studies class. They watched videos of Parkland survivor Emma Gonzalez speaking, juxtaposed with President Trump addressing school shootings. Then, the group went out into the hallway and began to brainstorm what they could do to incite a change.
“Everyone added their own opinions,” ninth-grader Isabelle Farrick said. “We sat in a circle and thought, ‘hey, this could become a thing, we can start making changes.’”
Soon, the students came up with a name, told their ideas to the vice principal, and set a meeting time and meeting space.
Students Take a Stand was born.
Ninth-grader Mercedes Morales said the group’s goal is to make the community and schools safer, and also to complete projects and fundraising to “help it all happen.”
Ian Farrick, Isabelle’s seventh-grade brother, expressed his concerns about school shootings becoming more frequent.
“It’s scary,” he said. “I think something should be done sooner.”
Ian Farrick noted that recently, a dog died after being put in an overhead carry-on bin on a flight, and 48 hours later, legislation was introduced to prevent it from happening again.
“Yet, even a month after a massive school shooting, there’s nothing,” he said, referring to the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting that claimed 17 lives.
He also called for more mental health help “so people don’t want to use guns violently.”
“I think we all want the same thing,” said seventh-grader Taylana Pabon. “To be safe while learning.”
Seventh-grader Lilliana Cheveyo mentioned how it’s become “a normal thing” to hear about shootings and gun violence in schools, and asked for a wake-up call.
“This group is going to make things happen,” she said.
“People are thinking we want to get rid of guns,” said 7th-grader Nikolas Martin. “We don’t want to get rid of them; we just don’t want them in the wrong hands.”
While the students in the group have differing opinions, they agree on a broad spectrum of solutions. For one, they support the addition of a school resource officer, planned to be added at the high school within the next year.
They also support refining safety drills in schools. Most of the group supported holding active shooter simulations, explaining that if an actual shooting happened, the shooter could enter the school from any point.
Taylana Pabon expressed concern that many of her classmates haven’t taken previous drills as seriously as they should. She noted many students talked loudly or didn’t pay attention.
The students in the group don’t support teachers having guns, saying that it could become a problem in itself. They worried about a teacher being unfit to have a gun in the classroom, or students finding a way to get their hands on a teacher’s gun.
“You can’t fight guns with more guns,” Taylana Pabon said.
Smith says he hopes for his students to explore the politics of gun control and “move beyond marching.”
This Saturday, Principal Annie Leonard will accompany the group to Boston to participate in March for Our Lives at the Boston Commons. The Grinspoon Foundation provided a grant so the group could share transportation with Hatfield students to attend the march.
March For Our Lives is a planned demonstration and peaceful protest for people to demand that lives and safety become a priority when fighting for stricter gun laws. Multiple demonstrations will take place Saturday from Washington, D.C., to Boston and throughout the nation.
“I want everyone to know this is everyone’s fight,” said Mercedes Morales. “Students, adults … everyone.”
“One person can be loud,” Ian Farrick said. “But an entire community working toward the same thing is a lot louder.”
Reach Christie Wisniewski at:
cwisniewski@recorder.com
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