The original Earth Day in the United States, conceived as an environmental teach-in, was held in the spring of 1970. High school students across the nation left their cars behind for the day and found less-gas guzzling transportation to school, where consciousness raising events were held. While the next day most of those students drove their cars to school, something was awakened, attitudes were changed and our environmental movement grew and evolved to this day.
Two weeks ago, we saw something similar happen across the land as high school students threw down a marker about gun violence in schools, and elsewhere, holding rallies and protests to mark the one-month anniversary of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that claimed the lives of 14 students and three adults by a troubled teen armed with a semi-automatic, assault-style rifle.
A protest today — the March For Our Lives Rally against gun violence and mass shootings — will bring thousands of students to the nation’s capital, and state capitals like Boston.
That our inability to curb mass shootings, especially in schools, is now being challenged by our own children is an encouraging thing to see — not unlike the movement sparked by Earth Day decades ago.
But the real test will be if their action can rouse enough people in the nation, young and old, to continue the struggle to get something done, to resist the inertial forces and vested interests that have prevented meaningful solutions to this problem.
We saw a glimmer of hope this week in Turners Falls that today’s march will be the beginning of a lasting and pervasive movement that begins to fix this problem.
Students Take a Stand was formed at TFHS shortly after the Parkland shooting, for students to address anti-violence and school safety issues among themselves.
It’s a collaborative effort of middle and high school students who share their opinions and ideas on how to make their school safer. Students emphasized that it’s not a group that wants all guns taken away; they just want to figure out how to make their school safer, and in doing so, perhaps help make other schools safer.
We think this is a good model for the national debate — a debate that should be about gun violence control, not simply gun control itself.
About a dozen high school and middle school students are in the group, and more have signed up to join.
David Smith, a high school social studies teacher who advises the group, noted the students have lots of different opinions, and this group gives them an opportunity to listen to different sides of what can be a contentious debate.
Listen to them:
9th-grader Haley Bastarache said she jumped at the chance to join Students Take a Stand, saying, “It’s important to do something.”
9th-grader Mercedes Morales says the group’s goal is to make the community and schools safer, and also to complete projects and fundraising to “help it all happen.”
Some 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 7th-grader Taylana Pabon. “To be safe while learning.”
Seventh-grader Lilliana Cheveyo noted it’s become “a normal thing” to hear about shootings and gun violence in schools, and asked for a wake-up call.
“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.”
Members of Students Take a Stand will travel to Boston today to participate in March for Our Lives at the Boston Commons.
They rightly don’t understand why the adults in charge seem incapable or unwilling to protect their children from mass shootings.
“I want everyone to know this is everyone’s fight,” said 9th-grader Mercedes Morales. “Students, adults … everyone.”
“One person can be loud,” 7th-grader Ian Farrick said. “But an entire community working toward the same thing is a lot louder.”
Let’s hope our society gets the message, gets inspired and gets behind our children.