March 21, 2018
Page 5
‘It’s Our Place to Speak Out’
A generation tormented by gun violence comes of age
and vote. Support the young activ-
ists in your community because
by L auren m aLand
zanne Bonamici who is a member a movement against gun violence. at the end of the day this issue is
I was only a year old when the of Congress from Washington Start conversations, ask questions, not just about politics or guns, it
mass shooting at Columbine High County, writing on a #Enough educate yourself on local politics, is about students feeling safe in
School in Colorado
banner, and suggest-
rocked the United
ing topics for a follow
States in 1999. Since
up forum on gun vio-
then, 215 shoot-
lence that will occur
ings have occurred
at Pacific on April
on school campus-
10. Pacific’s Young
es across the county
Democrats brought
alone. Countless other
computers along to
acts of gun violence
help inspired students
have been committed
register to vote, a vi-
in places of worship, Lauren Maland
tal way we can hope
at concerts, and on our
to make our voices be
streets, including police officer in- heard in the political sphere.
volved shootings.
A crucial part of the Pacific
To say that my generation, walk out came when speakers re-
whatever you may call us, has no minded students why they were
place in discussing gun violence there and in a call for unity asked
is ludicrous. We are the kids who that their message not to be divid-
spent every year at school prac- ed by politics.
ticing intruder drills alongside
Katie Lightcap, the student
natural disaster drills. We are the senate president, reflected on her
kids whose parents, out of the experience in high school in 2015
fear of gun violence, would hug when she was at Roseburg High
us a little tighter before dropping School fearing for her safety be-
Photo by t anner b oyLe /P aCiFiC u niversity student
Pacific University students file out of classes and move toward the
center of the university’s Forest Grove campus to attend a rally
and speak out against gun violence in solidarity with nationwide
student protests March 14 on the one month anniversary of the
mass shooting that killed 17 at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
us off at school, something we
wouldn’t understand till we were
old enough to know the truth. To
know that being at school was not
enough to keep us safe.
My thoughts turned to feel-
ings of sadness, anger and fear on
the morning of March 14 when
I joined my classmates to say
“enough is enough,” #enoughise-
nough, attending a rally in solidar-
ity with nationwide student pro-
tests against gun violence. At 10
a.m. that day, Pacific University
joined schools across the country
in a walk out to signify that the
students of this country will not sit
by and continue to allow acts of
violence to be perpetrated in our
schools without action.
Pacific’s walkout was orga-
nized by our undergraduate Stu-
dent Senate and included several
opportunities for students to let
their voice be heard. This includ-
ed writing letters to U.S Rep. Su-
cause of a mass shooting that hap-
pened on the same day at Umpqua
Community College in Roseburg.
Pacific sociology professor Jaye
Cee Whitehead spoke on the com-
plexities and intersectionality of
gun violence, and urged students
to demand an education without
fear of gun violence. Rev. Chuck
Currie, the director of Pacific’s
Center for the Peace and Spiri-
tuality and an assistant professor
of religious studies, finished the
programming by reminding stu-
dents that we have the power to
make change and that we should
demand real solutions from our
government.
There was an atmosphere of
heavy hearts throughout the walk
out, but the rally ended with stu-
dents having a better sense that
they can and will create change.
We cannot let this issue become
yesterday’s news. Every day you
can do something to contribute to
school.
Lauren Maland is a criminal
justice and applied theater major
and member of the Class of 2020
at Pacific University.