COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 21, 2018 7A
Cottage Grove High School joins national gun protest
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
"Guns and our Schools" is a three-part series that explores
the recent school shootings and how South Lane School District
and Cottage Grove as a community address the issue. In the last
installment, scheduled to hit stands March 28, we'll look at how
our kids interact with guns, where they shoot locally and how they
learn. If you began shooting as a child or are currently teaching your
child the rules of gun ownership, we want to hear from you: (541)
942-3325 or cmay@cgsentinel.com.
Guns
Continued from A1
areas also seem to become gun
owners earlier with 47 percent
saying they owned a gun before
the age of 18 while only 27 per-
cent of their urban counterparts
claimed the same. And of the 46
percent of rural-based adults who
own guns, 75 percent say they
own more than one.
Gowing owns 20.
“That’s not sitting down and
counting them. It’s an estimate,”
he said.
He has a 3030 that he killed his
fi rst deer with and the gun that all
of his children learned to shoot
SPRING
Tune-Up
We’ll make sure your system is
running eff ectively and effi ciently.
Call for details and an appointment today,
and beat the spring rush!
Only
$99*
Complete Heating & Cooling System Service
Reasonable Rates • All Work Guaranteed
SCHOOL BOARD
REQUESTS
APPLICANTS
FOR BUDGET
COMMITTEE
The South Lane School Board
of Directors is selecting a
community
member
to
serve on the District Budget
Committee
to
represent
Positions 3, 4 and 7. All positions serve a three-year term.
To be eligible for appointment, a school district budget
committee candidate must:
· Not be an offi cer, employee or agent of the district
· Be a qualifi ed voter of the district
In conjunction with schools across the
country, a group of 68 students walked out
of Cottage Grove High School (CGHS) last
Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. to push for
gun control and to remember the 17 students
that were killed last month at the shooting at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Florida.
The students gathered around the sign
near the front of the school where they made
a circle and locked arms on the grass as they
stood in silence for 17 minutes; a minute for
each student killed in Florida.
With a handful of community members
gathered on the sidewalk in support, the
students then ended their silence by march-
ing around the parking lot as they chant-
ed sayings such as “the NRA will have to
pay”, “bury guns, not kids” and “we’ve had
enough.”
“We felt that even though we’re a small
school and stuff, we felt like we also have
on, including proper gun safety.
“If you handed my kid a gun
they would drop the magazine
and clear it to make sure it’s emp-
ty,” he said. “The thing that’s real-
ly irritating to me and we’ve been
hearing this for 20 years and the
Thurston school shooting was 20
to 21 years ago and a few things
have changed over the years. In
the 70s you had serial killers.
You don’t hear about those any-
more, you hear the mass killings,
they’re getting all their fame from
one incident.”
In October of 2015, Ian Camp-
bell and Michael Sullivan reached
the scene before the stampede
of journalists that would fol-
low. They were on the staff of
the News-Review in Roseburg
and, because they had arrived so
quickly, made it into the chaos
instead of being stationed behind
the police tape. Umpqua Com-
munity College had become the
latest in the nation’s school shoot-
ings and would become the dead-
liest in modern Oregon history.
The gunman killed nine people
and injured eight others before
turning the gun on himself. All
within roughly 10 minutes.
In the aftermath of the shoot-
ing, local and national news or-
ganizations descended onto the
Umpqua campus as they had for
every school shooting prior.
University of Oregon profes-
sors Nicole Dahmen and Lori
a voice,” said junior Arleth Serratos who
helped organize the walkout.
“We want tighter gun control, we want to
do this for every school shooting that has
been happening because it’s not okay. We
deserve free and safe education.”
As the conversation about school shoot-
ings and gun control persisted throughout
the nation and was often led by students, a
group of students at CGHS – a school of ap-
proximately 740 students – wanted to make
their voices heard. Serratos, a member of
the CGHS MEChA group, met with school
administrators about what could be done.
The group put out fl iers while members and
other CGHS students began spreading their
message across social media platforms.
“I honestly, I was so surprised,” Serratos
said of the turnout. “It was kind of emotion-
al because it shows that our school cares.
It shows that students, they want to be a
part of something, they want to show what
they’re here for.”
“It’s just crazy because we are just stu-
dents and I wouldn’t have thought that that
Shontz examined the effects of
journalism on mass shootings
and mass shootings on journalists
in projects and papers including
“Reporting Roseburg,” an in-
depth reporting project that saw
interviews with the journalists on
the ground on Oct. 1, 2015.
One of the most-wrestled with
questions then and now was
whether or not reports should
name the shooter. In the case of
Umpqua, the gunman had a man-
ifesto and an argument has been
made that perpetrators of these
crimes sought fame and notoriety.
“It’s a fi ne line,” Eli Saslow,
who covered the shooting for the
Washington Post said in an in-
terview for Reporting Roseburg,
“If we don’t cover news as if it’s
news and we start saying we’re
not going to name the shooter
or we’re saying, ‘We don’t want
copycats in this situation so let’s
not name the location…’ The
very principle of journalism is it’s
our job to inform the public. Un-
fortunately, what we don’t control
is what then happens with that in-
formation in the public.”
John Sepulvada, of OPB and
CNN also spoke with Reporting
Roseburg, saying, “I don’t sub-
scribe to this idea that we should
never name a shooter. That being
said, I think the research is pret-
ty clear that there are folks who
look at that and say, ‘Oh, I want to
copy that.’ So, there’s no point in
Painting and Repair LLCC
Over 30 years of experience
Schedule Now
For Spring and Summer
Interior and Exterior Painting
Family owned and operated for over 47 years.
“We do small remodels,
home repairs and decks!
LANDSCAPE AND
BUILDING MATERIALS
Serving Lane & North Douglas Counties
Open 7 days a week!
79149 N. River Road
541-735-0089
ccb# 217560
541-942-4664
Did You Know?
Insuring your
life helps
protect their
future.
Matt Bjornn ChFC RICP, Agent
1481 Gateway Blvd
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Bus: 541-942-2623
www.bjornninsurance.com
Not taking advantage? Call or email us today!
S entinel
C ottage G rove
er, while tobacco-free zone signs
dot several locations around Cot-
tage Grove High School, a sign
that denotes the property as a
weapon-free zone is not visible
on the exterior of the building.
The district does, however, have
signs posted outside of the local
middle school and one of the fi ve
elementary schools. South Lane
district policy complies with the
federal Gun-Free School Zone
Act that prohibits the posses-
sion or discharge of a fi rearm in
a school zone but the policy also
permits individuals with valid
carry licenses under Oregon Re-
vised Statute (ORS) 166.291 and
ORS 166.292 to have weapons
“under their control.”
After the shooting in Parkland,
Florida that killed 17 students and
administrators, calls for stricter
gun laws were also followed by
suggestions that schools arm their
teachers.
It’s a discussion that hasn’t
happened yet in Cottage Grove.
“I believe the board would
have to set a policy that defi nes
teachers carrying guns and what
that would mean here at Cot-
tage Grove,” South Lane School
Board Chair Alan Baas said. “At
this time the notion of arming our
teachers here in Cottage Grove
has not shown up as board dis-
cussion.”
Many styles, sizes and
Colors to choose from
Home Pride
With your subscription you receive access to the mobile
friendly Cottage Grove Sentinel e-Edition.
• Get Local & Breaking News, Sports and Classiieds
• View our News Archives
• Read Special Publications
View it on your computer, tablet and smartphone, with
unlimited access, no need to download an app.
elevating the shooter. There’s no
point in talking about the shoot-
er other than how it relates to the
victim.”
When the Parkland shooter en-
tered the school, he was wearing
his Army Junior Reserve Offi cer
Training Corps shirt. When Peter
Wang, 15, was shot in Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School,
he was wearing his JROTC uni-
form and reportedly holding open
the door for others to escape. He
was posthumously admitted to
West Point Academy.
There’s no JROTC program
in South Lane. Gowing doesn’t
remember there being one when
he attended school in the 70s and
Thompson recalls speaking out
against the effort to start a pro-
gram in the 80s.
“What caught my eye in the
proposal when they were looking
at rebuilding the high school and
trying to pass a bond to upgrade
the school was the selling point
that if they did, they would start a
JROTC,” Thompson said. “They
needed a fi ring range and talked
about having one in the wrestling
room. I didn’t think guns in the
school was appropriate.”
All South Lane schools are cur-
rently weapon-free zones with the
exception of the school resource
offi cer—one Cottage Grove po-
lice offi cer assigned to the district
who spends the majority of the
day at the high school. Howev-
ORDER TODAY!
Call us for a Free Quote!
Interested citizens are asked to obtain an application from
the District Offi ce located at 455 Adams and return it to
Acting Superintendent Kyle Tucker or Tonya Kerns, Board
Secretary, South Lane School District, P.O. Box 218, Cottage
Grove, OR 97424. The deadline for application submission
to the South Lane School District offi ce is April 11, 2018.
Information about the responsibilities of the position is
attached to the application.
many people would have come out. Espe-
cially because we’re a small school and
the part where we’re located too, we have
different opinions. Just to see people come
together and unite and show that respect for
every minute is just, it was amazing to me.”
In preparation for the event, South Lane
School District put out guidelines that they
hoped students would abide by including
staying on campus and that they would re-
ceive an unexcused absence but attendance
would be taken once students were back in
the building.
“I would say it was a somber event… I
think it was done respectfully. It wasn’t
like it was a skipping class party. They had
a point of view and you could see by the
way they came out and the way they acted
that they had a point of view,” said principal
Mike Ingman.
“In terms of educational process, for
those students it was a very important that
they were involved in that. So for them I
think it was a really good event and went as
well as it could have gone.”
It can also provide for today.
I’ll show you how a life
insurance policy with living
benefits can help your family
with both long-term and
short-term needs.
GET TO A BETTER STATE.
CALL ME TODAY.
delicious
FAMILY DINING
We’ll make you feel right at home with
great food and friendly service!
®
Daily Speicals
20% off for Active Military & Vets.
Tuesday Night is Senior Night 4-8 pm.
OPEN DAILY
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
6am-10pm Sun-Th ur
6am-10pm Fri & Sat.
www.cgsentinel.com
541-942-3325
You trusted local news, sports and special publications since 1889.
State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI)
State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company (Licensed in NY and WI)
Bloomington, IL
1203087.1
1590 Gateway Blvd. • Cottage Grove
541-942-7144