THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2022 A3
LocalNews
RPA students walk out of classes
Students rally to support
gun control, Measure 114
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
Redmond Proficiency Academy stu-
dents walked out of school Oct. 25, join-
ing students in at least six other schools
across Oregon in support of Measure
114. The measure, on the November
ballot, would increase requirements on
some firearms sold in Oregon.
“It’s really scary being a student in this
day and age,” said Juniper Rook, a junior
at RPA and the organizer of the statewide
walkout. “I can’t begin to describe the
way that the lack of accountability and
action taken by people in power keeps
me up at night.”
According to Rook, high schools par-
ticipating in the walkout include Laker-
idge, Lake Oswego, Grant and Ida B.
Wells, all in the Portland area. The walk-
out in Redmond drew a couple dozen
students and multiple speakers.
Kai Richards, a freshman at RPA, said
he was at the Jefferson County Fair with
his cousins when a man clashed with
officers, then fled and exchanged gun-
fire with police. Richards said people,
including his sister Emma, hid in their
cars in fear.
“That is heartbreaking,” said Richards.
“Many of the students in America in this
day and age can’t go to school without
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
Dylan Levi, a freshman at Redmond Proficiency Academy, speaks during a student walk-out on Oct. 25 in support of Measure 114
— a bill that would change requirements to acquire a firearm.
the fear in the back of their minds that
they might not be making it home. I am
one of those students.”
Richards said that when he hears
about the shootings that happen across
the country on a daily basis, he thinks
about how his last text to his mother will
read: “I love you.”
Measure 114 would require a per-
mit to acquire firearms, require police
to maintain a permit/firearm database
and would prohibit ammunition maga-
zines to those that hold no more than 10
rounds.
“This measure can help be a stepping
stone to begin to solve this issue,” Rich-
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ards said. “I am exhausted of being on
alert at work, school and out in public.”
Dylan Levi, another freshman at RPA,
also spoke about how many children go
to school wondering if they will ever re-
turn home.
“We have had far too long to give our
thoughts and prayers, we have had far
too long to mourn and do nothing but
all to no avail,” Levi said. “It’s time for a
change in policy.”
Levi said that when the Second
Amendment was created, guns were
much simpler. He said that guns have
evolved and that laws should, too.
“It’s time to say enough,” Levi said.
Rook, who turned 17 the day after the
protest, said she has been advocating for
stricter gun laws since she was 12. That
was the year a gunman entered Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School in Flor-
ida and killed 17 students and staff and
injured 17 more.
Rook mentioned that the measure will
close a loophole that allows people to
purchase firearms if background checks
are not completed within three days —
no matter what that background check
eventually shows. Keeping that loophole
open, she said, just allows for more mass
shootings.
She said that while teachers at RPA
couldn’t legally walk out with them,
many supported the protest. She added
that she’s in close contact with Redmond
City Councilor Clifford Evelyn and Mor-
gan Schmidt, candidate for Deschutes
County Commissioner.
Rook said that while she and many of
her classmates can’t vote yet, it was im-
portant to educate people on the measure.
“Every vote matters right now,” she
said.
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@redmondspokesman.
com
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