February 14th, 2019 marked one year since the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. A gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing seventeen students and staff members and injuring seventeen others.
The gunman was identified as nineteen-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz. He was arrested in shortly after he escaped the scene. Cruz confessed to being the perpetrator, and was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.
This shooting has been regarded as one of, if not the, deadliest mass shootings that has taken place at a high school in the United States. It even surpasses the Columbine High School massacre of 1999.
The Parkland shooting took place during a time of prominent gun control awareness and advocacy, and followed closely behind other mass shootings, like Las Vegas and Sutherland in 2017.
Needless to say, the tragedy that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was a turning point in the nation’s awareness around gun control and sparked a national movement: the March for Our Lives.
High schoolers across the nation saw their lives transformed in the year after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Much of the debate surrounding gun violence prevention and school safety was prompted by student led activism, including the March for Our Lives which has been considered a spearhead of the gun control movement.
March for Our Lives was a direct response to the Parkland shooting. A primarily student led charge, its purpose was to raise awareness of gun violence and voice active support for gun control. The demonstration took place on March 24, 2018, when nearly 1.2 million people nationwide were moved to march for gun control, with anywhere between 200,000 to 800,000 people in Washington D.C alone.
Although nearly a year ago, the effects of Parkland and March for Our Lives can still be felt across the nation. In the year since the massacre, Congress has yet to pass new federal gun control. While it has improved the sharing of mental health and criminal records by federal agencies, and has provoked the passing of sixty-six gun control bills, many believe this isn’t enough change nationwide.
The Prospector spoke to Arin Wise (‘20), president of the Students Against Mass Shootings (SAMS) club, about what she believes should be done, both in the school and across the nation. “As far as our school goes, I think it begins with awareness that this is a big issue, and that we can solve it, rather than remaining helpless and hopeless,” she said. “The more voices we have banding together and the more willingness there is to save our own lives, then real change can happen.”
Regarding how the issue should be addressed on a federal level, Wise said, “As far as our government goes, more congress women and men need to be talking about this and making it a number one priority. Overall, more focus should be put on this issue.”
Wise’s biggest priority in the face of this issue was not only raising awareness, but taking action. She emphasized the need for real change to occur, and stated that most of the power to do so comes from the students, not the lacking government policies. “There needs to be more action, rather than just talk, prayers, and sympathy,” she said. “And that begins with us.”
When looking to the future, Arin hopes that the government and conflicted nation will put aside their political differences and recognize the issue as a national emergency that affects everyone.
“The government needs to know that the future of their nation is being compromised as it literally, and figuratively, is dying,” said Wise. “In addition, the survivors are losing faith in their government who expects them to save their own lives. There needs to be an acknowledgment that we aren’t just over dramatic kids…and we need our legislation to reflect our desperation and recognize our struggles.”
When asked specifically about Parkland’s one-year anniversary, she said, “This is only the beginning of the fight, and I hope C.K.M. realizes that this is a fight we need to join. I hope students realize this isn’t an inflammatory issue, but one that affects all of us and all of our livelihoods. We have to realize this before our school is next. Change begins with the individual, and we can make change. We aren’t just kids, we are young adults with our own lives and our own minds. That’s what March for Our Lives taught me: that I can make a change, and so can you.”
Eventually, Wise and the members of SAMS club hope to organize marches and fundraisers, but now they’re more focused on drawing in new members. The club meets every Thursday in Mr. Starace’s room, 216.
McClatchy itself is familiar with the paranoia around school shootings and threats against the school. Just this school year alone there’s been at least three threats, in which many students have stayed home, worried about the fate of their lives, friends, and the school.
Monday, February 25th, threats from an Instagram account “aimbotfordays_” were targeted towards numerous SCUSD schools, including McClatchy. The posts implied both shootings and the detonation of explosives would be happening the following morning at numerous SCUSD campuses.
The police report stated that “patrol officers, school resource officers detectives, and dispatchers conducted follow-up on no less than 100 related calls for service related to this vital internet post.”
On February 26th at approximately 3:00 a.m., officers detained the person of interest, who was in turn arrested for terrorist threats related to the incident. The person in question in a teenage male, and his identity is unable to be released.
Even with the arrest of the person in question, many students at McClatchy stayed home, afraid of what could happen. Since the shootings in 2018, specifically the high school shooting at Parkland, feeling unsafe at school has increased exponentially.
Wise reflected on her personal feelings about going to school in such a volatile time by saying, “My feelings are many, and constant. There’s always the constant fear when I walk into school that this could be the last time I walk in, the last time I say goodbye to my dad and mom, the last time I see my friends. It may seem dramatic, but it’s a real and tangible fear that I’m sure all of us have felt with the countless shooting threats. It’s a fear that’s become normalized, often ignored, so that we can live our lives as kids without worrying if we’re going to die when we come to school or not.”
This fear, the fear for our lives, the fear that at any time, any place, everything could end because of a misguided individual, is unbearable. Especially unbearable as there’s many possible ways to prevent such atrocities from taking place, through the government, through stricter gun control laws and enforcement, but change has yet to prevail. Walking in the hallways, going from class to class, with the question of making it to the next period, let alone the next day, isn’t a way anyone should live.