The sound of the bell rings in your ears as you are in your class ready to go back to your dorm. You go to take a step with your old worn out shoes that are creased and dirty and all of a sudden you stop. The room goes silent and the only thing you hear is the faulty breathing patterns of everyone around you. He comes in the room with a gun and the next thing you know you are being told to get on the floor and put your hands behind your head. You are too scared, but just in that split second when you manage to look up, the ringing sounds of the gunshots go off and you watch five of your classmates die in front of your eyes. From that point on, your life will be changed forever. 

   School shootings have increased tremendously in the past couple years. Last year alone in 2022, there were around 300 school shooting incidents across the United States. Increasing from 250 incidents in 2021 and 114 incidents in 2020.  According to sandyhookpromise.org , each day, 12 children die from gun violence in America. Another 32 kids are shot and injured. This is horrendous. Parents wait at their phones constantly wondering if it is their kids that got hurt or if it is the call that announces that they have passed away. Personally, I am scared. I go to college in six months and I am officially on my own. I am scared to go to college. I am scared to walk into a bar or restaurant. I am scared to sit down at a desk and hear the sound of a gun going off. I am scared to wake up one morning and not know that it is my last day in this world with my friends and family. Going to college already made me feel nauseous, but now I can’t even say that I want to go at all and want to ever step foot into a school building again. 

   In the past month, I have seen some of my close friends not know if their siblings, friends, or even any of their family members were alive because of what happened at Michigan State. I watched tears flow down red, rosy cheeks and heard the constant clicking of frantic fingers hitting the keys on a phone to check constant updates. I watched Snapchat videos of flashing red and blue vibrant lights as people hid under their beds and barricaded their dorms with heavy objects. Everyone keeps wondering, how do we move on from this? How do we get better?

   So, how do we move forward from this? What do we do? Some things are already in place to take action against school shootings. Many colleges have on campus police to help protect their students and staff members. A great resource available already is sandyhookpromise.org where it teaches adults and young adults how to protect themselves against gun violence. It shows people early signs of gun violence and how to prepare themselves, so no one ever has to lose a loved one. But, what can we do personally? Educate yourself on guns and how big of a deal it is to own one. If you are going to become an owner, make sure it is for the right reasons. Have the leadership skills and integrity you should have to own and maintain a weapon like that. If we really felt like we needed to take a step in the right direction, we would make the purchase of a gun like the purchase of a car. Make lessons about safety and make sure background checks are put into place. It is sad that it is much easier to be a proud gun owner in America than to be a proud licensed citizen. We, as students, can contact the legislature and petition for more gun restrictions. Or not even necessarily restrictions, but just the simple fact to make it more of a constructed process to buy a gun. I know that we also do drills in school, but I feel it is at the point in life where we need to do a little bit more. Have a talk with us, prepare us. Let us know that we are safe and going to be okay. 

   School shootings. That moment when you realize you could watch your friends and loved ones die right in front of your eyes. Prevent that. Stop that. Be the one to stand up and stop gun violence in schools. Protect yourself and others around you.

Here is a non- profit where you can donate and help stop gun violence:

https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/