In the wake of the Parkland shooting, young people from across the nation have taken the national gun violence conversation into their own hands, specifically regarding school safety. On campus, many individuals, from freshmen to science teachers, have joined in on the conversation.
Many in the student body agree that gun violence legislation needs to become more strict. Kamsi Iloeje ’19 said, “The fact that it is easy for people to buy guns, regardless of age, regardless of criminal background, regardless of your mental instability, is really frightening. And I think that we need to crack down on that to make sure that the people who have guns are responsible.”
Right now, America has one of the highest populations of gun carrying citizens; consequently, America’s gun homicide rate surpasses that of any other developed country more than three times over. This is why Alice Volfson ’19, a known activist on campus, believes that gun violence legislation should be more strict: “It should not be this easy to have access to military grade weapons, such as an AR-15. Yes, people should have the right to have access to handguns and hunting rifles for protection sake, as that is their Second Amendment right. However, at this point, there needs to be a change in the vetting process for these weapons.” Lily Ball ’20 went on to say, “A lot of people use the excuse of ‘You can’t take my guns away.’ Well, yeah, you like them, but people are dying now. Yes, I support some gun ownership; no one is trying to take all guns away. This is just common sense action for safety.”
Due to the high number of recent shootings, schools across the country have been preparing students for the chance of an active shooter on their campus. These preparations include the lockdown drill. An alarm and technology blast will be sent out to the whole school, telling its members to stay where they are, secure their location, and hide in silence until help arrives. Students at Choate have had many lockdown drills, like the one on Thursday, March 22, in the wake of shootings like Sandy Hook, Columbine, and Virginia Tech. However, the reality is that Choate is an open campus, which is concerning for some students. “I don’t feel 100 percent safe just because it is an open campus and someone could just walk on if they really wanted to, but the School, and our general schooling from elementary school to now, has prepared us for the chance something like that could happen,” said Iloeje.
Gun violence has caused mixed feelings around campus.
Ian Mentz ’19 agreed, stating, “Choate is just as prepared for a threat as any other school, which is as good as you can be. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about arming guards on campus. I’ve seen people say a solution to the problem is to have armed veterans on campus, acting as security personnel. I think having more guns on campus will only add to the problem. The reality is that if a shooter comes on campus, assuming the guard isn’t right next him, something will happen.” Students know that the number one priority of the School is the students’ safety, and the administration has shown that throughout the years.
Now, young people across the world are becoming activists, determined to put an end to gun violence and school shootings. Max Gingher ’19 said, “Choate students need to know that it is okay to have a strong opinion and they need to express that. I believe activism is a very powerful tool used to enact change in our country.” As the organizer of the Choate trip to the New York March For Our Lives, Volfson has had a lot of experience with on and off campus activism. She stated, “Although our school does not take a political stance, the issues at hand are not political. I think that us, students, need to be more active in issues like this because it is our lives we, the Parkland survivors, and the many other passionate activists are fighting for.”
