Taking A Stand - The Eagle Eye - Volume 3, Number 4 - May 2018

Quarter Four • May 2018 • Volume 3, Number 4

Taking a Stand

Design by Lauren Newman

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 5901 Pine Island Road Parkland, FL 33076

The Eagle Eye Quarter Four • May 2018 • Volume 3, Number 4

Contents Cover art by Madelynn Dittman

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The opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or Broward County Public Schools. The publication abides by the standards of scholastic press associations and is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. If you would like to advertise please call (754) 322-2150 or email msdeagleeyenews@gmail.com

Visit us at: eagleeye.news @HumansofMSD on Instagram @EagleEyeMSD on Twitter

03 Letters to the Editor 04 her legacy lives on 06 Following thier footsteps 08 Get out the vote 09 Bots, bias and buzzwords 10 March for Our Lives Stand up, walk out 16 18 Organizations 21 Guns in america

MSD student body shares their perspective on various issues The activist spirit of Marjory Stoneman Douglas continues Activists today stand on the shoulders of legends of the past

How to register to vote and who to vote for

How to find the truth in a world of fake news

MSD students orgnize March For Our Lives

Students walk out of class to protest gun violence

Parkland community is inspired to create organizations for change

Photo by Suzanna Barna

Editorial Board Emma dowd Lauren Newman Rebecca Schneid Editors-in-Chief

Christy Ma Taylor morrison Nikhita Nookala Carly novell Associate Editors

Mady Kravitz Business Manager

Jacob Brown Design Editor

Hannah Kapoor Social Media Editor

Staff Writers

Suzanna Barna Einav Cohen Ryan Deitsch Anna Dittman Richard Doan Brianna Fisher Zoe Gordon

Samantha Goldblum Alex Han Lewis Mizen Nikhita Nookala Delaney Tarr Kevin Trejos Daniel Williams

American guns range from pistols to semi-automatic rifles

24 amend this the smart choice? 25 26 Under the scope 28 Eagle Eye manifesto 30 guest editorials 32 Aiming for peace 34 safety first 36 How to get involved

States change their gun laws in response to citizen’s demands

Smart guns are a new alternative to the traditional gun

The NRA grows from a shooting range club to the largest interest group in the U.S.

The Eagle Eye editorial board proposes a set of discussion points

Guest writers share varyimg oppinions on gun violence

Gun violence continues to be daily problem in many urban communities School safety becomes immediate priority among school districts and students

Local organizations offer activist opportunities

Design by Lauren Newman

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Kicking Out Kirk

Dear Editor, For the past couple of months especially, I wholeheartedly support the importance of perpetuating crucial and long-overdue policy change. However, this change does not entail the blind endorsement of a single political agenda. A recent example of this unnecessary politicization was the invitation of guest speaker Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative association, Turning Point USA. His invitation was neither extended nor acknowledged by the majority of the MSD student body and was appropriately blocked by the Broward School Board. Some have balked at not allowing Kirk to speak, ridiculously using Dwayne Wade’s visit to MSD as justification. Wade is an NBA legend, not a political figure, and his arrival at MSD was mainly to honor ones we had lost, not to advance a divisive rhetoric. Wade had emphasized that he simply stands in solidarity with the Parkland community, properly avoiding open politicization, and the one meeting he attended was with a handful of students and was privately held. The problem with Charlie Kirk does not at all pertain to his political party. I do not mind that he harbors Republican views (I’m sure some of my peers may agree with him), but I do condemn HOW he has chosen to express these views. Time and time again, he has resorted to senseless prejudice to demean individuals with opinions he does not share. Frankly, his entire career is built upon the illogical urge to attack every political organization that does not identify as conservative. Kirk’s First Amendment rights allow him to speak out about his views, but like all amendments, there are limits to this. It has only been two months, and now a multitude of my peers have PTSD and anxiety from their experiences. I know so many of us just want things to go back to normal, and the last thing we need is for a stranger who does not and will never understand what we had to endure to force us to listen to him preach about the necessity of the very weapon that was utilized so atrociously months before. There are dozens of better methods to nurture progressive, united debate, and the only way this can occur is if we focus more on understanding than criticism; more on policy itself than party lines; more on love than hate. Sindhu Kolla, 11

Send us a letter

Have something to say about school? Have something to say about a local, national or global issue? Have something to say about this issue of The Eagle Eye? We want to hear your opinions. Email submissions to: msdeagleeyenews@gmail.com. Submissions must be between 100-250 words

Not Just Kids

Dear Editor, As the school year comes to an end, I wanted to reflect on this year, as it is one that I will never forget. I expected my junior year to be difficult, but never to this extent. As a result of the intense schedules and extracurricular activities, many of my fellow classmates had lost sleep and motivation. But this year took away something even more precious from us. When we were suddenly thrown into the world of adulthood, along the way we lost our youth. And no matter how hard we try, it is impossible to go back to those times. No longer do we carelessly fling comments. We tread carefully now, aware of the eyes on us. As a school, we have become more

mature and considerate of others. But we should not mourn the loss of our youth and innocence. Our maturity should be used to the fullest extent, bringing with it a respectful change in our society about an issue that has been so shamefully ignored for so long. Leaving behind our younger selves in order to embrace a movement that has become so dear to us is a small price to endure. As we become examples for students across the nation, I believe our courage, eloquence and maturity should be embraced. By doing so, we can show our country that we are not just foolish teenagers, but young adults who plan to make a better future. Rishita Malakapalli, 11

Actively Stepping Back Dear Editor, Our school as you, I and the entire country know, has recently been tragically affected by gun violence. This tragedy has reignited a political debate that has been left unresolved for much too long, but should it even be considered political in the first place? I was recently touring my college and met with a few current students, one of whom is a political science major and, like many other strong young adults over these last few months, has taken an interest in the politics surrounding the tragedy that occurred at MSD. The student had been told before their meeting with me that I am an MSD student, and the first thing they said when I met them was that they’d been looking forward to hearing the political opinion of someone who experienced the tragedy themselves. I thought about what to say for so long that he became apologetic and told me that I did not

have to talk about it if I didn’t want to, and part of me didn’t want to because it’s been consuming my life, all our lives, for months. But in that moment, I realized that it is not about politics; I don’t have a political opinion on the matter, and I don’t think anyone should. It’s not political, it’s life or death. I think it’s vitally important that we all take the time to step back from the scene of political activism to truly reflect on what happened and to mourn the beautiful souls that were lost to this senseless act of violence. We need to step back from the cameras and allocate time to family, friends and the endless possibilities of life. Instead of planning a protest, plan 17 acts of kindness. Instead of seeking out media, seek out new adventures. Instead of taking to social media, take to the world because it is your oyster, and any day could be your last. Kate Keane, 12

Black Lives Matter

Dear Editor, Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it? It seems to be a wonderful phenomenon to be unaware of a reality that the oppressed face because it does not affect you. Unfortunately, most people of color cannot afford to be so oblivious. The true feelings of the Stoneman Douglas population have been brought to light with a recent “letter to the editor” about the “ridiculous” and “absurd” Black Lives Matter movement. Even more telling than the letter itself was the lack of outrage for the truly misguided views that the writer exhibited. I can only assume that this silence means that the Douglas population is either content with these views or agrees with them. Either circumstance is unacceptable. For those who truly believe that the BLM movement has some kind of radical agenda to make black people superior, allow me to ease your suspicions. By saying that black lives matter, we are not saying that “only black lives matter,” we are saying that “black lives matter, too.” The subject of black-on-black crime is an

entirely separate issue to be addressed, and to equate the two is to compare apples to oranges. The people who are paid to protect and serve us should not be hunting us like animals, especially when the only “weapon” on that black man or woman’s body is a pack of skittles, a wallet or a cell phone. As long as law enforcement treats black skin as a threat to their very existence, Black Lives Matter is a movement that is not only important, but also imperative. Before you pass this letter off as an angry attempt to justify a “radical” movement, think for a second about the last time you were approached by the police. Were you afraid for your life? Were you hesitant to roll down your car window, or to reach into your pocket for your license? Did you think back to the last thing you said to your mother, praying that wouldn’t be the very last thing you said to her? If you cannot relate, check your privilege. If you, cannot at least empathize, check your prejudice, because you are part of the problem. Tyah-Amoy Roberts, 11

The Attack on Arguments Dear Editor, With the recent rise in political activism coming from our school, I see many people of different opinions attacking the people on the other side of the argument on a personal basis. It is important for everybody to realize that generally both sides of the argument genuinely care about the problem and never want to see another mass shooting again; they just have different opinions on how to solve this problem. Nobody wants to see more people dying — not even the “evil” politicians. The most important thing is to focus on facts, logic and data, instead of verbally attacking anybody who dares to disagree with your position. Attack the argument and prove it wrong, instead of accusing people of things that they did not commit. I would like to emphasize that this has to be true for both sides of the argument, as both sides are guilty. The purpose of this letter is not to support any one side, but to encourage meaningful conversations about the proposed legislation. Nobody is a bad person for disagreeing respectfully. Marcus Lecky, 11

Diverse Yet United

Dear Editor, The tragedy that occurred at our school was absolutely heartbreaking and devastating; however, the way that we (students and staff) have been handling it since then is worthy of commendation, as we have so bravely taken a horrific incident and turned it into a powerful movement that will not only ameliorate things for us, but for the country as a whole. Although we all experienced the tragedy simultaneously, each of us was in a different location and had various experiences, which bolsters even more a sense of solidarity among us, as we are all grieving and going through the healing processes together. Before the event took place though, we had already been a significantly diverse school where people are of different backgrounds and different party affiliations, and that causes us to not all be on the same terms when it comes to the way to protect our school and which common sense gun control regulations to enact. Differing in opinions is very much American, as the very First Amendment gives us total freedom of speech, and the Douglas community does a pretty good job at handling disagreements on both sides. However, “a house divided cannot stand.” At some point, everyone needs to come together to find common solutions that will work best for our school, that will ensure safety in every single school in America and in all public places. Rochenide St Preux, 12

Letters to the Editor 03

Design by Lauren Newman

Her Legacy Lives On M The activist spirit of environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas continues through the students of MSD arjory Stoneman Douglas was a journalist, activist and wellknown environmentalist. She not only impacted Florida in her relentless fight to save the Everglades, but also with her strong demeanor and outspoken support for women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School carries not just her name, but her spirit, as the students use their voices to speak their stories and fight for change. Stoneman Douglas was born on April 7, 1890 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and moved to Miami in 1915. Her father, Frank Stoneman, became the owner and executive director of the Miami Herald. Stoneman Douglas worked as the society editor for the paper, which ignited her love for writing. From 1918 to 1920, Stoneman Douglas traveled to France and Italy while volunteering for the Red Cross during World War I. Even when she was busy with her volunteer work, she still made time to write articles for the Miami Herald. Her writing was dedicated to the work and accomplishments made by the Red Cross in Europe. “... I found what I was meant to do, even if it was as simple as writing society blurbs in a small city newspaper,” Stoneman Douglas said in her novel “Voice of the River.” “I didn’t care what I was writing about as long as it was writing. It was a great leap forward in my individuality.” When she returned to Miami, Stoneman Douglas created “The Galley,” a column in the Miami Herald in which she expressed her ideas, ranging from the environment to women’s and laborers’ rights. She continued to write short stories and narratives after leaving the Herald in 1922, in addition to working at the University of Miami as a short story coach and associate professor of English form until 1933. Along with her history of writing, Stoneman Douglas was invested in Florida’s landscape. Nicknamed the “Grande Dame of the Everglades,” she became known for her passion for the environment. In 1947, the same year the Everglades became a national park, she

published her most successful novel, “The Everglades: River of Grass.” Through her vivid imagery of the Everglades, she impacted others’ views of the landscape by revealing its importance to wildlife and why it must be preserved. “There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them...” Stoneman Douglas said in “The Everglades: River of Grass.” Stoneman Douglas’ attribution of the Everglades as “The River of Grass” is depicted in her book through her descriptions of the area. “The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slowmoving below, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades of Florida. It is a river of grass,” Stoneman Douglas said in the novel. As Stoneman Douglas grew older, her fight to conserve the Everglades persisted through her constant research and compelling speeches. In 1969, at the age of 79, Stoneman Douglas founded the environmentalist group, “Friends of the Everglades,” which helped to stop the construction of an airstrip set to be built in the middle of the Everglades. The organization continues to uphold the importance of the Everglades and advocates for better environmental laws, as Stoneman Douglas has originally hoped. “Since 1972, I’ve been going around making speeches on the Everglades,” Stoneman Douglas said. “No matter how poor my eyes are, I can still talk. I’ll talk about the Everglades at the drop of a hat. Whoever wants me to talk, I’ll come over and tell them about the necessity of preserving the Everglades,” Stoneman Douglas said in her autobiography. Because of her effective accomplishments on the environment and community, Stoneman Douglas has become a well-known figure in Florida and across the country. In the 1950s, she was given the Thomas Barbour Medal for Conservation. In 1986, the National Parks Conservation Association created the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award”

for others that fight to protect the environment. In 1993, former President Bill Clinton awarded Stoneman Douglas the Presidential Medal of Honor. “Her advocacy on behalf of the Everglades in Florida long before there was ever an Earth Day is legendary. It has been an inspiration to generations of conservationists, environmentalists and preservationists throughout our Nation and especially to my administration,” Clinton said during the award presentation. “Beyond Florida, Marjory Stoneman Douglas is a mentor for all who desire to preserve what we southerners affectionately call ‘a sense of place.’ And Mrs. Douglas, the next time I hear someone mention the timeless wonders and powers of Mother Nature, I’ll be thinking about you.” In Parkland, Florida, in 1990, a new high school was built and given the name Marjory Stoneman Douglas to honor her legacy as a prominent figure in the Everglades and her persistent activism. After years of service for the environment and her community, Stoneman Douglas passed on May 14, 1998 at the age of 108 at her home in Coconut Grove, Florida. Her passion continues to live on in the students of the school named after her. Because of the tragedy that occurred on Feb. 14, 2018, students have begun to fight, advocating for stricter gun laws and effective protection for schools. Senior Hannah Karcinell is fighting in this movement for the victims at MSD and others that have lost their family and friends to gun violence, as well as the change it will bring. She and other students reflect their candor and spirit through their activism as they represent Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ namesake. “Marjory’s activism has inspired me a lot,” Karcinell said. “Many of her quotes are extremely relevant to the situation we are going through. I think she has become a role model for many of my classmates and I in regard to our activism. She has greatly influenced us simply because of the persistence and determination that she demonstrates within her activism.” Her courage reflected through the students as they have found and continue

to find ways to share their voice. When Stoneman Douglas founded “Friends of the Everglades,” she gave a series of speeches and spread the word of her accomplishments across the country. Similarly, students have been speaking out to news platforms and giving speeches at rallies. They have also reached out to politicians, proposed new laws and have been actively discussing their ideas with leaders to spread their message. “Be a nuisance where it counts, but don’t be a bore at any time… Do your part to inform and stimulate the public to join your action...” Stoneman Douglas said in a passage entitled “How You Can Protect the Environment” published in the journal GeoJourney. “Be depressed, discouraged and disappointed at failure and the disheartening effects of ignorance, greed, corruption and bad politics — but never give up.” Even after her death, her story continues to inspire others to find what makes them inspired. “You have to stand up for some things in this world,” Stoneman Douglas said. As a result of their determination for gun control and safer schools, the students of MSD have caused lawmakers, leaders and the world to listen. Embodying the spirit of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the students will carry her legacy with them as they hold the name of their school with pride in their fight for change. Story by Anna Dittman

In a 1994 file photo, Marjory Stoneman Douglas sits at home with her cat Willie. Photo courtesy of Marice Cohen Band/The Miami Herald/TNS

IN HER WORDS 04 Activism • Marjory Stoneman Douglas

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Speak up. Learn to talk clearly and forcefully in public. Speak simply and not too long at a time, without over-emotion, always from sound preparation and knowledge.

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“

Be a nuisance where it counts, but don’t be a bore at anytime... Do your part to inform and stimulate the public to join your action...

”

“

Be depressed, discouraged and disappointed at failure and the disheartening effects of ignorance, greed, corruption and bad politics — but never give up.

”

Activism • Marjory Stoneman Douglas 05

Design by Nikhita Nookala and Rebecca Schneid

Following their

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raditionally, activism refers to direct, determined campaigning forabout social or political change. But, almost all of the words in that definition are vague enough to be stretched and pulled to fit a wide variety of types of action, ranging from writing a letter to a politician, to boycotting products to march demonstrations. Therefore, many people define activism in the ways that they have seen it or in ways they feel pertain to them. “Before everything happened here, my view of activism was physical action... and actually physically appearing to make change,” senior Emma Gonzalez said. “But, now I see that activism can come in so many different forms. It’s working to change minds and change people in power for an issue they believe in.” It is indisputable, though, that activism has a rich and deep history in American society. Since the days of rebellion by the Sons of Liberty and other revolutionaries working to break away from Great Britain, disobedience for the purpose of changing society is ingrained in the American persona, forever intertwined. “One of the major traits of American history is individualism,” AP U.S. History teacher Lisa Hitchcock said. “We have seen activism since the beginning of our history… our fundamental beliefs in democracy and free speech fosters this. When the troops were being trained in the Revolutionary War, they did something that no one else ever did: they questioned orders. That’s the American way — to question why things are the way it is and to not blindly follow anyone.” Traditional sociopolitics are often cited as the fight for equality from marginalized groups. Of course, “marginalized” is a broad term. Protests against “the man” have become a distinct part of American society. “Our founding fathers knew how important activism and change was,” Hitchcock said. “That’s why our Constitution is built the way it was… because they knew that eventually change was necessary.” Immediately after the Revolutionary War, rebellion and civil disobedience were still prominent factors in achieving that change. Bacon’s Rebellion was an uprising

of indentured servants who did not receive the land that they were promised; Shay’s Rebellion included veterans rising up against what they felt was economic and civil injustice. One can trace this kind of rebellion of oppressed groups throughout American history, each activism movement using different tactics to get their message across. In the 1950s, African American civil rights activists participated in demonstrations, including marches, rallies, picketing and sit-ins to demonstrate their discontent with racial inequality and persistence for change. They also used literature in the form of persuasive letters, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “A Letter from Birmingham Jail,” to fight for their cause. Anti-war activists in the 1960s during America’s involvement in the Vietnam War protested in many different ways. Many famous artists participated in these demonstrations, releasing songs like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” and Phil Ochs’ “What Are You Fighting For.” Combined with public demonstrations, this cultural revolution allowed the growth of the anti-war sentiment and eventually contributed to the government’s decision to leave the war. More recently, LGBT activists advocated for acceptance through the gay rights movement. Activists fought for both political equality under the law through lobbying and marching and for social equality through placement of gay content in magazines, films, literature and other forms of media. As an extension of the LGBT rights movement, multiple organizations were created to combat the outbreak of AIDS in the 1980s, many of which were protesting insufficient healthcare for AIDS patients. Each of these reform movements, as well as the hundreds more that have taken place throughout America’s history, are focused on different issues and yet still use very similar methods in order to get their messages across. Similarly to the tactics used with the women’s suffrage and the abolition movement, many of them have come to work together to fight for their goals in unison, pooling their resources in order to achieve a more effective outcome. Today, many activist movements follow in

Standing up. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy at MSD, students, teachers and community leaders gathered outside a Fort Lauderdale courthouse to rally for gun control measures. Photo by Suzanna Barna

the footsteps of the past movements and mimic their actions. “I think it’s important for groups to remain autonomous,” junior Sarah Chadwick said. “But, also, communication is important, and if you can work together to reach a goal, that’s a win-win.” These movements also look back at other campaigns in the past throughout history for guidance on how to make their political action actually realize results. Through studying the plight of activists in the past, they are able to edit strategies to enact change in the future. “In a way, I think past activism is kind

change over time 1776

Revolutionaries in America create the Declaration of Independence to become a sovereign nation.

06 Activism • What Is Activism?

1848

Suffragettes, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, convene in Seneca Falls, New York to address women’s rights.

of a guidebook for us now in terms of what people did for public protests and things of that sort,” Chadwick said. “Where these movements lie, those are really the foundations of every movement. Beyond that, it’s just really important to see the significance of what change-makers did in history, which inspires us to do things today.” The question, therefore, is how to get people to support an activist movement? What in the past has worked? And, what today can be done better? “The purpose of an reform movement usually is to get the majority to support

Activists spark change throughout history

1865

1920

Abolitionists celebrate a major victory as slavery is abolished with the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

White women are guaranteed the right to vote when the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is ratified.

1963 Civil rights activists and followers of Martin Luther King Jr. join forces and march on Washington, D.C., to fight for equal rights.

Footsteps

Design by Nikhita Nookala and Rebecca Schneid

Activists today stand on the shoulders of legends of the past Hands up. Demonstrators at the March For Our Lives in Washington D.C. raise their hands in solidarity with student activist Alex King to show unity in the face of adversity. Photo by Emma Dowd

Talking it out. MSD students, including senior Chris Grady meet with state legislators and national media outlets in the Florida Capital building in Tallahassee. Photo by Suzanna Barna

Listen and Learn. Juniors Ritika Kothur and Sindhu Kolla listen to Florida state legislators in an effort to lobby for change and more sensible state-level gun regulations. Photo by Suzanna Barna

the minority, which can be difficult,” AP Government teacher Jeffrey Foster said. “If you can get people to see your facts, if you have the right people in your movement to get people inspired to join the fight and see that your belief system is just, they are going to support it.” In the age of technology, this method has been revolutionized, specifically by one thing: social media. Whether it be by Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr, social media has allowed for the galvanization of groups around the world for a cause that began with one singular moment. The #MeToo movement, which fights

1969 The Beatles release “Give Peace a Chance,” a song that encompasses the opposition to the war in Vietnam.

for the end of sexual assault and rape culture in America, was born out of a social media hashtag, and spread to become a significant movement after months of it spreading across Twitter. The reveal of multiple celebrities’ sexual misconduct on social media led to real world changes, including firing and lawsuits. Most significantly, though, it led to real accountability of abusers. “[Technology] is a positive thing in the way that you can contact a student in China or Africa and share your ideas; you can video conference and get together so much more easily with social media,”

1989 The burning of an American flag was protected under the First Amendment in Texas v. Johnson, redefining free expression.

Hitchcock said. “But, you also have to be careful about misinformation and confirmation bias. It’s so easy to just find what you want to see on social media… but you have to look at all sides of an issue and make conscious decisions.” With this new technology, an eclectic type of activism has arisen. Take the movement against gun violence: activists marched at the March For Our Lives, walked out of school, called out politicians in tweets, used songs like “This is America” by Childish Gambino and “Found/ Tonight” and sat outside the offices of representatives — all things they learned

1992 Californians protest police brutality with riots following the acquittal of police officers involved in the arrest of Rodney King.

2015 The landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges establishes the legality of same-sex marriage in America.

from previous campaigns for social change. Both in early American history and now, it has often been the youth who begin the fight for social change. Whether it be through writing, tweeting or marching, grassroots activism by those who see ailments in their communities is what leads to actual change. It is a bottom-up process and one that could take decades to see results, but persistence, perseverance and proficiency in the facts allows for the society to eventually address and correct injustice, making for a better society as a whole. Story by Rebecca Schneid

2018 In the wake of the massacre at MSD, activists march in a student-led movement for gun control.

Activism • What Is Activism? 07

Design by Daniel Williams and Nikhita Nookala

Get out the vote Register To Vote For Adults Print a voter registration application from an official website or pick it up at the local county supervisor of elections and fill it out completely. This form can also be filled out online on the Florida Online Voter Registration website.

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There are multiple ways to register to vote in Florida

For Students

Who Can Vote? You can vote if you...

Are a U.S citizen

Preregister starting at the age of 16 or register when getting a driver’s license so that as soon as you turn 18 years old, you will automatically be registered. Registration programs are also run through many high schools.

18+

Are 18 on or before Election Day

Meet residency requirements

Registered to vote by state deadline

*Registration must be completed at least 29 days prior to any given election

How To Vote In Person Absentee

In order to cast a physical ballot on election day, you must locate your polling place. You can find this information online. Polling places are usually situated in local libraries, schools, or city halls. Make sure to have your voter registration card or state-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, to make it through the lines and to the polls. If you are living away from the place where you originally registered to vote, you will cast an absentee ballot. Request a vote-by mail ballot up to six days before an election online on the website of the county Supervisor of Elections. It must be completed and delivered before 7 p.m. on election day for your vote to count.

The American Candidate

Part of being a responsible voter is learning about who you are voting for

DO

DO Not

Vote based on your personal beliefs

Vote based on who colleagues, family or friends vote for.

Read about candidate platforms on official campaign websites.

Rely on television or Internet ads that are run by Political Action Committees (PACs). These ads often have extreme bias and even occasionally false information.

Research candidates using reliable sites such as the Wall Street Journal or websites ending in “.gov”

08 Activism • Voting

By the numbers

There are also various ways to cast your vote on Election Day

45+T 45%

of eligible 18-24 year-old Floridians registered to vote in 2016

Asian and Hispanic voters consistently have the lowest turnout

55+T 55%

About 1 out of 3 Floridians aged 1824 voted in 2016

of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential election

Why Should You Vote?

The youth vote, from ages 18-24, has historically been one of the lowest turnouts throughout American history

1 2 3

Your opinion matters

The government works for the people and can’t do an effective job if they do not know what the people want.

It affects your life

Elected officials control what happens in your daily life. Voting for the right person can make your life easier.

the government is held accountable

Once candidates are elected, they should listen to what their constituents want. It’s the governments job to do what the people want. If they do not, vote them out.

Bots, Bias and BuzzWords

Design by Nikhita Nookala

How to find the truth in a world of fake news

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Filter through reposted news to find the real source

Use a fact-checking website

resident Donald Trump popularized the term “fake news” during his presidential campaign, referring mostly to left-leaning networks and media sources, such as CNN and the New York Times and their alleged bias against him in their reporting. Since then, the term has been used to characterize any news item that is presented as factually accurate, but is in fact false. By being diligent and vigilant, private citizens can keep themselves from falling victim to the “fake news apocalypse” and make sure they are well-informed and getting their information from sources that are not pushing any particular agenda. Story by Nikhita Nookala

eaders who really wish to be sure of the credibility of a story that looks “sketchy” or unreliable should trace it back to its source. Stories are sometimes sold on news wire services, causing them to be published verbatim on many local or regional news sites, which may not have had the resources to write that particular story. In order to determine the reliability of the article, the reader will have to find the original source to evaluate it there.

eaders can also check the credibility of the story in question with a verified factchecking site, such as Snopes or Politico. These sites are not biased and are dedicated to determining the validity of claims made online, from political rumors to sound bites to conspiracies and hoaxes. Factchecking websites can be a quick, easy way for readers to make sure they are spreading the right story.

Beware of partisan biases and network selectivity

Check the credentials of the news network and journalist

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he question of who to trust in the media is sometimes not as clear as one may think. Often, news that intentionally and actively encourages some kind of emotion is not news and is instead highly editorialized content disguised as a news article. Editorials and op-eds are not news sources and should not be sourced or quoted as such. While most journalists strive to be as unbiased as possible, it is true that networks have ideology biases, reinforced by the stories they decide to air and the voices they choose to elevate. For example, MSNBC and Fox News are television news networks that are notoriously biased towards liberal and conservative views, respectively.

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heck the credentials of the network that published the story or the author of the story itself. For example, articles written by Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire are likely to have a strong conservative bias, while articles written by Rachel Maddow of MSNBC are likely to have a strong liberal bias. The Onion and The Borowitz Report are known satirical websites, and news reports or facts from those and other satirical news sites should not be quoted as fact under any circumstance. There are also a number of websites that have proven to fabricate news, such as YourNewsWire. com, The Boston Tribune and Breaking-CNN.com, which emulates the style and design of CNN.com.

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Watch Out for News Found on Social Media

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ake news is often more problematic on social media, especially Facebook. People are less likely to check the sources of what they share, like and post, and therefore, facts that are false may go unchecked and be shared to hundreds of thousands of people. Social media news has recently been under much more scrutiny due to a discovery made shortly after the 2016 presidential election that exposed many posts made by websites based in Eastern Europe that spread radical propaganda regarding the candidates. After this came to light, many have speculated whether these stories had any effect on the outcome of the election.

And the Fake NEws award goes to....

Crisis acting for Our Lives? The claim:

Outspoken students from Parkland were actually actors hired by the left in order to speak to the media about gun control.

The truth:

MSD students such as senior David Hogg, senior Emma Gonzalez and junior Cameron Kasky have gone on record denying these claims, and school records show that they are students at the school. They also deny receiving any sort of monetary compensation for their speaking events.

The falsely accused accuser The claim:

The Washington Post paid women to publicize or fabricate sexual assault stories regarding Roy Moore, and one had even been arrested for lying.

The truth:

No one ever sought to intentionally sabotage the campaign of Roy Moore. The allegations against the Post were levied by an anonymous Twitter account, while the article in question was built on dozens of interviews and primary sources. The company also has an explicit company policy against paying sources.

False Flag Conspiracies The claim:

Conspiracy theorists often come out after mass shootings and other national crises that spark reform movements or national outcry and claim that the event itself was a government-run operation to cause change.

The truth:

There has never been substantial evidence to support the claims of these theorists. The theory has been applied to the MSD tragedy, the Sandy Hook tragedy and even 9/11, but has never been proven.

Activism • Fake News 09

Design by Emma Dowd; photos by Suzanna Barna

Junior Cameron Kasky

Trevon Bosley

Senior Delaney Tarr

Junior Sarah Chadwick

Edna Chavez

Matt Post

D’Angelo McDade

Junior Jaclyn Corin

Senior Ryan Deitsch

Aalayah Eastmond

10 Activism • March For Our Lives Washington, D.C.

Design by Emma Dowd; photos by Suzanna Barna

Junior Alex Wind

Senior Samantha Fuentes

Zion Kelly

Yolanda Renee King & Junior Jaclyn Corin

Senior David Hogg

Naomi Wadler

Mya Middleton

Matthew Soto

Jackson Mittleman

Senior Emma Gonzalez

Activism • March For Our Lives Washington, D.C. 11

Design by Christy Ma

March For Our Lives March for Our Lives in Washington D.C. becomes one of the largest marches in American history

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n the midst of an unexpected tragedy that occurred on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s campus on Valentine’s Day, activism and leadership arose, giving hope to many in the Parkland community and around the world for a safer future. On March 24, 2018 the organization March for Our Lives, which was created after the MSD shooting, created a worldwide movement gathering hundreds of thousands of people to demand new gun reform legislation and take a stance on rampant gun violence in America. The main march in Washington D.C. was immediately filled to the brim on Pennsylvania Avenue with march participants advocating for changes in America’s gun laws. It was a cold, but bright day in D.C., permitting people from all over the country to gather in front of the United States Capitol with one voice. The Washington D.C. march was originally projected to have 500,000 participants, similar to the Women’s March held prior to March 24. Instead, there were over 800,000 people in attendance on Pennsylvania Avenue, breaking historical records. “We had to double our permits,” senior Emma Gonzalez said. “We were going to 12th Street, and I think we went to 14th, which is like twice as far away.” Early on in the march, participants were unable to move further due to the density, but speakers and large screens were provided along the street for those who were unable to directly see the stage ahead. In order to gain such large-scale attention on the gun debate, MSD students of all grades looked to social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to voice their opinions on the hot topic of gun reform. Students like seniors David Hogg and Delaney Tarr and junior Sarah Chadwick have successfully gained hundreds of thousands of followers on their Twitter profiles and raised awareness on the debate of gun control. The outspoken students of MSD created the March For Our Lives movement in junior Cameron Kasky’s living room and announced the date of the march to the public just four days after the shooting, catching attention from all over the world. “Cameron Kasky originally had the idea of creating a march, and he said he wanted it to be as big as the Women’s March, and we were like ‘that’s a lot Cameron,’” Chadwick said. “Then we got in contact with Deena Katz, one of the organizers of the Women’s March, and she said ‘I’ll help you with this.

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I believe in this cause,’ and then we started spreading the word about March 24, and we got donations after donations, which helped put on the really expensive march.” According to the website, the march’s mission statement is to “assure that no special interest group or political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country.” The creators of the March For Our Lives initiative have explicitly stated on their website that they are working toward universal, comprehensive background checks, giving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives a digitized, searchable database. They are also working to provide funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research the gun violence epidemic and advocate for the banning of high-capacity magazines and assault weapons. In order to achieve such goals in America, MSD students and students across the country planned for the worldwide March

Organizers invited celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt to sing inspirational and uplifting songs, but reserved speeches to youth like senior Ryan Deitsch, 11-year-old Naomi Wadler and 17-year-old Zion Kelly. Leaders of March For Our Lives wanted not only Parkland students to speak, but also students from cities like Los Angeles and Chicago who have to face gun violence on a daily basis, but never had the platform or opportunity to vocalize their pain. “I have lived in South L.A. my entire life and have lost many loved ones to gun violence,” Manual Arts High School senior Edna Chavez said in her speech. “I learned how to duck from bullets before I learned how to read.” The addition of people outside of Parkland was done on purpose to exemplify the fact that gun violence is prevalent in all of America, not just where it is reported from on newspaper headlines. There was a designated section in front of the stage for MSD families and staff, as well as victims of gun violence from Chicago and Washington D.C. “Everyone who spoke at the march is absolutely incredible,” junior Alex Wind said. “I think that what we needed to do was show each aspect of gun violence and how it affected everyone. There were kids there who deal with gun violence on a daily basis, and we needed to show that gun violence isn’t just in schools; it’s everywhere.” With the march in the past, March For Our Lives movement leaders are currently urging Americans to stay informed and to register to vote for the next midterm elections in November. Although it is a difficult task, students are determined to flip the norm of low voter turnouts during the midterm elections and vote the politicians who do not want gun reform out. “Everything that happened on March 24 means nothing unless we actually get out there and vote,” Wind said. “We marched on Washington, and now we need to march to the polls because that’s where we’ll actually make our voices heard, and that’s where we’ll really show politicians that we’re not messing around.” According to a CNN article, millennials in 2018 will surpass baby boomers as the largest generation of Americans eligible to vote. With millions of new voters qualified to take on the polls, the March For Our Lives will work hard to increase voter turnout in order to see changes made for gun policies in America. Story by Christy Ma

We marched on Washington, and now we need to march to the polls because that’s where we’ll actually make our voices heard.

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For Our Lives that would take place only a week after the one-month anniversary of the shooting in Parkland. “It was very difficult and confusing a lot of the times because we’ve never done it before. We can’t do a lot of things ourselves because we’re not 21; a lot of us aren’t even 18 yet,” Gonzalez said. “We had people to help us [with legal issues], but we knew what we were doing. The sibling marches was just about the best part… it was all over the globe.” Although March For Our Lives received financial support from thousands around the world, including public figures such as George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey, the message was delivered through speeches solely by students affected by gun violence in order to show that America’s youth is taking the lead in this movement. “It’s important to remember that we are a grassroots movement; we are started by students, and it is led by students,” Chadwick said. “We do have a bunch of major companies and adults offering their help to us, and we’ll take the help that we need, but we’re not going to let them control us, as in tell us what to do and what not to do, because this is our movement.”

Words into Action

Photos by Suzanna Barna, Emma Dowd and Rebecca Schneid

12 Activism • March For Our Lives Washington, D.C.

Design by Christy Ma

Behind the Scenes

Singing and Supporting. Miley Cyrus chats with MSD students at the March For Our Lives event in Washington D.C. Photo by Kevin Trejos

Speaking Out. Students of MSD sit on stage during the speeches. Photo by Kevin Trejos

Backstage Bonding. March For Our Lives leaders prepare before their speeches. Photo by Kevin Trejos

Activism • March For Our Lives Washington, D.C. 13

Design by Suzanna Barna

Parkland Pride City of Parkland and MSD students organize a March For Our Lives, walking from Pine Trails Park to MSD

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Speaking Up

n March 24, the City of Parkland hosted one of 800 sibling marches for March for Our Lives. The march began at 10 a.m. when the Parkland community was joined by thousands of marchers from around South Florida who gathered at Pine Trails Park to participate. Nearly 30,000 people were in attendance to advocate for change for the community and country. Before marching to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the event featured about a dozen speakers, consisting of students, members of the community, and family members of the victims from the Feb. 14 shooting. No politicians spoke in order to keep the message centralized on the students and victims’ families, rather than on politics and partisan issues. Everytown for Gun Safety, a New York-based nonprofit organization that merges Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other advocates for gun safety, donated funds to cover all expenses for the Parkland March For Our Lives. These funds paid for expenses including the shuttles from parking spots across South Florida, off site parking personnel, law enforcement and fire rescue and water supply. Junior Adam Buchwald, co-founder

loved one of each of the 17 come up on stage and give their name and who they march for,” junior Casey Sherman said. The march held different meanings for every person, but ultimately, the march served as a form of coping and healing, symbolizing the progress of the community to move forward and overcome evil since the tragedy. “It was important for me to march because I left the darkness of my room that was full of anger and grief, and I marched for a better future for all of us,” Tabares said. “There are so many other reasons that I marched, like finding my voice, finding the social part of my life and showing the love I have to our beloved home, MSD.” For senior Seth Albert, he felt the called for everyone in the audience to hug Schachter, spoke at the march as well. As a prominent parent who has been lobbying march encompassed the one goal that he the person besides them “as if there’s no believes needs to follow in the aftermath legislators and communities, Max spoke tomorrow,” pleading with the crowd to of the shooting. about the strength of the community for appreciate their neighbors. “We have one goal, one mission, and rising up and about his goals for school Mayor, one of the injured students that is to put an end to gun violence,” safety and gun reform for the future. from the shooting, braved the stage and About eight students who had not yet Albert said. spoke to the crowd about the necessity to By noon, the speeches concluded, and protect children while they attend school. found a prominent platform gave a speech the actual march began. People filled “A murderer should not have been able as a group with individual segments in which they shared their thoughts. Behind the road as the marchers poured out of to enter the hallway and shoot through the window of our classroom,” Mayor said them on stage were 17 students who each Pine Trails Park and began their walk to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, represented one victim they held dear. in her speech. “This was the most symbolic moment the site of the Valentine’s Day shooting. Tony Montalto recounted his “There was a strong sense of of the entire day, having one friend or daughter’s life and his vision for of Parents Promise to Kids, opened the day’s speeches, introducing the march and exciting the crowd for the monumental and sentimental speakers and events for the day. Other speakers included freshman Daniel Tabares, junior Samantha Mayor and Tony Montalto, father of Gina Montalto. Tabares concluded his speech by asking the crowd to repeat the phrase, “Be positive, be passionate and be proud to be an eagle,” each day to remember MSD’s motto as a lifelong lesson. He also

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compromise in legislation to result from his and his family’s loss. “Gina was a smart kid with a kind heart,” Tony Montalto said. “We felt she was destined to change the world. And through this movement, she may do just that.” Gina’s younger brother, Anthony Montalto, stood alongside his father with a poster of Gina that read at the top, “My sister could not make it here today. I’m here for her.” Max Schachter, father of Alex

We have one goal, one mission, and that is to put an end to gun violence.

14 Activism • Parkland March for Our Lives

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Design by Suzanna Barna

Speaking Up. Junior Adam Buchwald speaks in front of the march attendees in Parkland, Florida to honor the victims of Feb. 14 and call for change. Photo by of Kyra Parrow

March Forth. Parkland March For Our Lives student organizers lead the march from Pine Trails park to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo courtesy of Ian Witlen

March Forth

No NRA Money

community united against a common front with one goal: lasting change,” junior Olivia Worthington said. Therapy dogs roamed throughout the crowd and helped anyone who needed comfort. The community marched. The crowds shouted various chants including, “enough is enough,” “never again” and “we are MSD.” “It was really crowded and really exciting. There was a Native American woman who banged on a drum in tune to the chants of the crowd,” junior Isabella Pfeiffer said. The marchers remained vocal and energized until they reached the high school where the crowds fell silent to pay their respects to the victims as they passed the memorials that were laid out in front of the school. The course for the march was approximately 3 miles long in total, including the walk back to Pine Trails Park. The march’s student-led planners started organizing the event with only weeks left until March 24. In fact, the student leaders of the Parkland March for Our Lives attended the city of Parkland’s Commission meeting to ask for the community to officially approve the plans for a march, so they could begin the

details of organization. Sherman was the main student organizer for many aspects of the march, including delegating the tasks, approving final decisions and creating the schedule for the speeches and activities of the day. “The day was incredible, and I would not have had a single moment go any differently,” Sherman said. Samantha Novick, daughter of DECA teacher Sharon Cutler and Parkland City Commissioner Ken Cutler, greatly contributed to the planning of the march and was the most involved adult contributor, according to Sherman. Sherman and her other fellow organizers, including sophomore Sari Kaufman and juniors Alyssa Fletcher, Lydia Moreno and Kosha Patel, coordinated location drop off points, the speech lineup and the stage and set up the stage in the park in less than two weeks. After two weeks of planning, March 24 arrived. March For Our Lives ran smoothly as the Parkland community and surrounding areas came out to support the grieving community that has united to call for political action in response to the tragedy they endured, asking for school safety and gun reform for the protection of every child in America. Story by Suzanna Barna

Good for Gina

All for Alex No NRA Money. Senior Cole Sumner shows his sign directed to the National Rifle Association.

Photo by of Kyra Parrow

Good for Gina. Anthony and Tony Montalto hold a poster honoring Gina Montalto. Photo

courtesy of Ian Witlen

All for Alex. Max Schachter speaks at the Parkland March For Our Lives to honor the life of his son, Alex Schachter, and to advocate for a change in legislation related to school safety and gun reform to protect all children of America.

Photo by of Kyra Parrow

Is This Our Future?

Is This Our Future? Junior Daniela Santiago holds her poster related to the normalization of shootings. Photo by of Kyra Parrow

Activism • Parkland March for Our Lives 15

Design by Carly Novell

Step Up, Walk Out Students walk out of class to protest gun violence

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s seen through the organization of March For Our Lives on March 24 and by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students on Twitter, the gun control movement is headed by the next generation of voters: students. In order to involve all students in the fight against gun violence, Women’s March Youth Action Network EMPOWER organized a national school walkout on March 14 and April 20. The walkouts aim not only to show support for victims of gun violence, but also to call for change in the country’s gun laws. Students of Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Liberty City, Florida also walked out on March 3

after the death of one of their fellow students, sophomore Kimson Lee Green. Administration warned against the walkout not because of its controversial nature, but because the safety risks of walking through their gang-ridden city. Liberty City’s gun violence issue is so severe that every year at the high school’s graduation, administration includes a memorial for its “Fallen Bulls.” One month after the MSD shooting, on March 14, high school students across the nation rallied around the community and displayed their support for gun control legislation in the first school walkout at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes in honor of the 17 victims. Thousands of students from at least 2,600 different schools participated and risked

disciplinary action from their school’s administration. Locally, Broward County Public Schools stressed that students who chose to participate in their school walkouts would not receive disciplinary action due to the proximity and prominence of MSD in their communities. However, distant counties such as Cobb County in Georgia issued an in-school suspension to all students who participated in a walkout. “I’m just disappointed that my county failed to recognize the intentionality behind our demonstration and merely focussed on what they saw as a disruption,” Cobb County senior Daniel Marks said. Despite certain counties’ attempts to discourage students from walking out, many colleges, including George Washington University and Tulane

University, reassured their applicants who received disciplinary action for participating in a walkout that they would not be penalized on their application. On April 20, the 19-year anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, students walked out for the second time, calling for gun reform. Students were encouraged to wear the color orange for their walkouts because of the Wear Orange Campaign which began in 2015 after 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was killed in a 2013 gang shooting. Her family wore orange in honor of her, and later became activists against gun violence. Thus, orange became the color symbolizing gun violence awareness and Pendleton’s legacy exists through today’s activists wearing orange for gun

Spreading the Love. Coral Springs High School students stand for a heart shape in support of MSD at a March 14 walkout. Photo courtesy of Bradley Lyons/Coral Springs High School Yearbook Eagles in Their Nest. Principal Ty Thompson mourns with students on the foorball field during MSD’s March 14 walkout. Photo by Kevin Trejos

Spreading the Love

Stand Up and Walk Out. MSD students gather in the courtyard on anniversary of Columbine High School shooting on April 20. Immediately following the gathering, some students walked out of school to protest gun violence. Photo by Kevin Trejos

16 Activism • Walkouts

Eagles in Their Nest

Design by Carly Novell violence when they participate in protests and walkouts like the one on April 20. Student participation in the protest provides an example of civil disobedience, a non-violent protest against a specific injustice. Often used in the 1960s during the civil rights era, civil disobedience has proved to be effective as a symbolic effort. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. often used civil disobedience as a form of protest by participating in sit-ins at “whites only” bars. King held to the belief that non-violent protest is the most effective way to enact change. “Although [civil disobedience] may not have a direct impact on policy change, it gets the public’s attention,” Cobb County senior and walkout organizer Kara Litwin said. “It raises awareness for the cause that one is trying to bring to the forefront of our nation, and it causes a chain reaction of change.” The creator of the National School Walkout, Lane Murdock, is a 16-year-old high school sophomore from Ridgefield, Connecticut. After hearing about the MSD

shooting on Feb. 14, she created a petition on change.org for gun control. Murdock planned the event with a nonprofit called Indivisible. The walkout began at 10 a.m. and lasted until the end of the day. There were over 2,600 walkouts planned through the organization’s website, nationalschoolwalkout.net. According to their website, the National School Walkout holds a threepart goal consisting of holding elected officials accountable, promoting solutions to gun violence and engaging students in the political system. At MSD, students walked out for their fallen Eagles on March 14. Some students felt that the 17 minutes of silence planned for the victims was not enough, so they decided to walk to Pine Trails Park, about a mile up the road from MSD. Principal Ty Thompson chose to not discipline those who return to school after the walkout because it was meant to honor of the victims from their school. On April 20, students walked out in honor of the victims from Columbine High

School. The April 20 walkout was met with controversy due to a letter from the high school’s principal denoting the walkout as a day of service and instructing schools to refrain from walking out. “I feel like most people were doing it for the wrong reasons. I feel like they were doing it to get out of class,” senior Robert Bonczek said. “If you’re going to do it on the anniversary of Columbine, you should respect the wishes of Columbine. And they made it clear that they wanted to have it as a day of service rather than a walkout.” MSD students participating in the April 20 walkout could choose to either walk to the courtyard or walk to North Community Park. Students who walked to the courtyard could freely walk back to class after partaking in 1 minute and 13 seconds of silence in honor of the Columbine victims. In the courtyard, students held a voter registration drive during lunch for students previously unregistered to vote. During lunch, there was a banner in the courtyard for students to sign, which would be later be sent to Columbine High

School. Murdock planned a full-day walkout for students starting at 10 a.m. MSD students also had a Columbine banner in the parking lot at North Community Park. Students who walked to the park would not be allowed back in school due to security measures. Compared to the March 14 walkout, there was a low student turnout, especially of students who left school. About 100 students stood together in the courtyard for the moment of silence, but most went back to class instead of leaving school entirely. Thompson did not penalize any of the students who walked out on April 20, but they did receive unexcused absences. According to Broward County Public Schools, assignments and tests that are done while students are absent unexcused will be marked as zeros in the class gradebook. However, it is up to the teacher of that class to decide whether to give that student a zero. Story by Carly Novell

A Shared Cause. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students walk out of class to the football field on March 14 in honor of the 17 victims of the Feb. 14 shooting at MSD. Photo by Kevin Trejos Walking for Change. MSD Students walk out of school to honor victims and call for gun reform legislation on March 14. Photo by Kevin Trejos

A Shared Cause

Walking for Change

Activism • Walkouts 17

Design by Lauren Newman

making msd shine Song “Shine” by junior Sawyer Garrity and sophomore Andrea Pena sparks movement Shine MSD

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fter the tragedy on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland’s community united in support for each other, inspiring movement after movement all fighting for peace and solidarity. The Drama Club at MSD fostered one of such movements by writing and later releasing the song, “Shine,” written by junior Sawyer Garrity and sophomore Andrea Peña. With “Shine” came an initiative in its name, aiming to bring harmony and unity through the arts. The song was released on iTunes on March 30, 2018. It currently has a four and a half star rating and reached the top of the iTunes charts during its first week. Musician Dan Warner helped Shine MSD grow even larger. At first, they created the Youtube channel called “ShineMSD,” on which they aired the song and two other videos. They were later asked to perform it at the BB&T Center during the televised CNN Town Hall, where they sang as a tribute to the community. They later added the town hall version onto the Youtube channel. “We wanted to share [‘Shine’] with everyone to help heal the community as a whole. It was also more like a tribute to my school because, since we didn’t want to be super political, we used our art to help heal,” junior Ashley Paseltiner said. “Shine” started off as just a song, but escalated into a much bigger movement than it originally intended to be. Once the students performed at the BB&T Center, they received praise and love from the public, including demands for a studio recording. This popularity gave the artists the idea to record the song, sell it on iTunes and release it on Spotify to help

raise money for MSD. The Shine MSD organization decided, following the song’s impressive sales, that they should attach a video to the song and hoped to make a music video. Fortunately, Warner, who the Shine MSD organization has been working with, explained that his company wanted to help make the film more professional and into a full-scale music video. The students recorded the video with Portal A, who donated their time for free after school for two days, spending over five hours each day filming. Brittani Kagan, an MSD alumna from 2007, took the position of executive producer and director for the film. About 100 students and friends and families of the victims were present during the music video filming. The music video for Shine MSD was released on May 4 and hit 1,000 views in one day. All profits raised through the Shine MSD organization are going toward helping people in the Parkland community heal through the arts. Shine is supported by several other clubs at MSD including TV Production, the National Association of Students Against Gun Violence, Drama Club and the Gay Straight Alliance. With so much awareness, Broadway stars decided to take it upon themselves to show their love for MSD. They got in contact with Drama teacher Melody Hertzfeld and informed her of their songwriting initiative. The initiative explained that Broadway composers would take words written by Hertzfeld’s students and help create a song out of them. Students were chosen by each

Shining Star. Junior Sawyer Garrity performs “Shine” at the “From Broadway With Love” concert. Photo by Rebecca Schneid

Rise and Shine. MSD Drama performs “Shine” alongside several casts from the Broadway community during the “From Broadway With Love” benefit concert held on April 16. Photo courtesy of Ian Witlen

Shining Light on MSD. The “Shine” album cover features the memorial outside MSD that was built by the community from Feb. 18 to March 28 when it was relocated to FAU. Photo courtesy of Sawyer Garrity and Andrea Pena

composer and artist to perform their songs at the benefit concert set up by the Broadway community called “From Broadway With Love.” The organizers supplied all MSD students with three tickets for the event and put all other seats up for sale. All profits were given to the victims’ families and Parkland

community. The team behind Shine MSD is brainstorming ways to further raise money through various events. They are planning for the fundraisers to be related to the arts and consist of having people paint or play instruments and other related activities. Story by Einav Cohen

Stories Untold

Social media page features stories of victims of gun violence

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en Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students launched an organization called Stories Untold, a social media campaign created as an outlet for any victims of gun violence to share their personal stories of encounterments with guns. “This is an open invitation for those who have been a victim of gun violence. Don’t let your voice be silenced, you can now share your stories,” Stories Untold said in its first post on Instagram account @storiesuntoldus. The idea of this organization began with juniors Lorena Sanabria and Carlos Rodriguez, and then the rest of the organization’s student-leaders joined by contacting the founders afterward. Rodriguez and sophomore Darian Williams both produce the interview videos to upload on their social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. “Stories Untold started out as a way for Douglas students to give their personal account of what happened on Valentine’s

18 Activism • Organizations

Day, but now it has become an outlet for anyone who has experienced any type of gun violence to share their story,” Sanabria said. One of Stories Untold’s posts was about 15-year-old Anthony Borges. Borges, who sustained five gunshot wounds, describes his face-to-face encounter with the shooter and demands his voice to be heard and for people to listen to his untold story. The post was published on April 7. The organization aims to inspire individuals who have not been given the opportunity to share their experiences with gun violence. Anyone who has experienced gun violence before is encouraged to contact Stories Untold and send a video recording of themselves sharing their story. The nine students, Senior Carmen Lo; Juniors Lorena Sanabria, Carlos Rodriguez, Morgan Williams, Giuliana Matamoros, Sebastian Suarez, Lydia Moreno and Alfonso Calderron; and freshman Daniel Tabares created this organization to be a

voice for not just their fellow students at MSD, but also for the rest of the world to tell their stories. The online campaign aims to bring light onto the underrepresented voices of students impacted by gun violence. “Our school is very diverse, and the media is not representing us… We Telling the Untold. Senior Carmen Lo; Juniors Lorena Sanabria, want to represent the Carlos Rodriguez, Morgan Williams, Giuliana Matamoros, Sebastian minorities that are not in Suarez, Lydia Moreno and Alfonso Calderron; and freshman Daniel Tabares advertise their organization, Stories Untold. Courtesy of the media: the Latinos, Carlos Rodriguez African-Americans, Asians. Our voices are very powerful,” Rodriguez said. voices that had never been heard before, After the the launch of the have been amplified with the help of organization on April 2, students of the organization. Those who wish to do Parkland have been posting on Twitter of so may share their story by emailing their personal stories with the hashtag storiesuntoldus@gmail.com Story by Alex #StoriesUntold and by doing this, their Han

Design by Lauren Newman

meadow’s movement Friends and family of Meadow Pollack create an organization in her honor

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eadow’s Movement is an organization started by the family of Meadow Pollack to honor her memory and help make schools safer. The family has been putting in long hours of work to plan events and take action. One of the organization’s initiatives began by Andrew Pollack, Meadow’s father, is to build a playground in Meadow’s memory. The family has been raising money to make his vision of a $1 million playground a reality. “I had a vision that came to me about a playground,” Pollack said in an article on March 13 by the Miami Herald. “Instead of going to honor my daughter at a cemetery, I had a vision of building the most spectacular playground in Broward County in honor of my daughter’s name.” The playground will be built on a 10,000 square foot plot of land donated to the Pollack family by the Chabad of Coral Springs. Funds for its construction are raised through the RememberMeadow. com website and donation drives all around the country. Apparel and accessories are being sold representing “Princess Meadow,” with 100 percent of the funds raised going toward the playground. A website dedicated to the sale of sports team apparel has been

created called PlayForMeadow.com. On the website, its mission statement states, “Teams throughout the country have decided to ‘Play for Meadow’ by wearing these commemorative t-shirts while they play. Every T-shirt purchased will assist in the effort of raising funds to build a safe playground and garden in the community. All proceeds from the sale will go directly to Meadow’s Playground.” One shirt in particular has “Meadow’s Movement” written on it, but the word “Meadow” is in Meadow’s own handwriting, as she signed her name on a school assignment. This shirt, sold for $20 each, has raised $2,834 since it went on sale. The Pollack family also hosted the Ride for Meadow event on March 31, where 700 motorcyclists were escorted from the Palm Beach Harley Davidson by police to the Pollack home 43 miles away. As soon as the motorcyclists arrived at the Pollack home, there were over 1,000 people gathered in the backyard. At noon, a fundraiser was held to help raise money to fund Meadow’s playground. “We, as the students of this country, must take our anger and take our pain and our desire to live this life to the fullest, and we must channel it into a mission that is obtainable — one that

Meadow’s Merchandise. Heather Schoengrund and Amanda Perez sell Meadow’s Movement merchandise. Courtesy of Amanda Perez

can be achieved without heavy debate,” Meadow’s brother Hunter Pollack said at the event. After the ride, anyone interested in being part of the event was welcome to take part in a fundraiser at the 27 Bar and Grill, but if participants were not attending as motorcyclists, they paid an additional fee. The restaurant supplied attendees with live entertainment, food, drink, auction items and raffles. In an effort to make schools safer, Andrew Pollack is an ardent supporter of the recent legislation passed by the Florida legislature regarding public school safety. He was present during the

signing of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act by Gov. Rick Scott in Tallahassee. Scott went as far as appointing Andrew Pollack to be on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act committee to ensure that every effort to prevent another tragedy from happening is taken. Meadow’s Movement is still collecting funds to build Andrew Pollack’s dream playground and can be reached on Facebook, Instagram and the organization’s website, RememberMeadow.com. Story by Einav Cohen

students for change Organization aims to develop the next generation of leaders through productive dialogue

P

olitics and the influence that students and their peers can have on the world around them appears to be the new focus of many of the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as they look to engage in the government in a manner and magnitude rarely expected of this generation. One group of students, deciding to aim higher than simply establishing a new club at school, has created a nonprofit organization known as Students for Change that strives to educate youth on how to speak out about their passions and resolve issues they see in the community in a mature manner. “Students for Change is trying to create a very nonpartisan, non-hostile platform where people from both sides of the aisle of all opinions can come together and speak with one another, present facts and educate kids how to speak to one another properly in a polite manner, how to speak to politicians, how to organize events to advocate for things they are passionate about,” junior and organizer of SFC Jack Macleod said. “The whole main idea is to teach communities how to resolve issues to help us evolve as a nation.” A week after the events of Feb. 14, while heading up to Tallahassee to speak with state legislators regarding the variety of issues that students felt needed to be

addressed by the Florida government, juniors Isabella Pfeiffer and Connor Deitrich brainstormed the idea of creating a club at school that would have the capacity to include both Democrats and Republicans. Their organization would not only provide an outlet for discussions on political issues, as the already established Politics Club does, but also provide ways for students to get involved and be active participants in their community. “We went to Leon County, and we saw all these kids… and we thought ‘wow, all these kids want to help us out, but they don’t really have the means to do it,’” Pfeiffer said. “Also, a lot of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas feel like their voices aren’t being heard because the media has only been targeting a few kids to interview and advertise.” Initially the idea was for Students for Change to be a new club at school, but once they returned back from Tallahassee and spoke with Macleod, they decided that they wanted a platform larger than the one the school could provide. This would also allow them to be less limited by rules and procedures in place by the school that could potentially hinder the development of the organization. “At first we tried to become a club within Douglas, but there are already a lot of clubs that have come out of this, and we didn’t want school regulations to

intercede in what we were trying to do,” Pfeiffer said. “This will be the home base, and we will have a lot of students from here being involved in SFC, but I guess you could say that Douglas is as related to this organization as any other school.” The current focus of the organization is on dealing with the legal obligations for establishing a nonprofit organization, such as filling out a 501(c)(3) and branching out to other schools to build a following for the organization, as they look to expand across the nation in an effort to train the next generation to be the leaders of tomorrow. Students interested in getting involved can visit www.studentsforchange.org. Story by Lewis Mizen

Being the Change. Senior Jack MacLeod and juniors Ari Ali, Morgan Williams and Sarah Chadwick speak in Manhattan, New York at the We Are Family Foundation Gala. Photo courtesy of Jack Macleod

Activism • Organizations 19

Design by Lauren Newman

change the ref

T

he tragedy on Feb. 14 irreparably changed the lives of many in the community. For some, it brought everything to a screeching halt. For others, like the family of Joaquin Oliver, it mobilized them to create organizations for change — namely with their organization Change the Ref, alluding to the corruption of some referees in basketball. Joaquin would explain to people that corruption lied in the referees who made calls in favor of a team that was bribing them. This unfair exchange of money is a telling comparison to many figures in our current political climate. After Joaquin passed, his family and friends were pushed into a world of activism. Through talks with other grieving families, the Olivers realized the need for change. Out of that need, their organization was born, focusing on gun violence prevention and gun reform. Change the Ref states that their mission is “to empower our next generation so they can fight for their values, have their voices heard and impact change for their future.” Manuel Oliver, Joaquin’s father, does this through a series of powerful murals. In many, he depicts his son, his simple smile, covered by a hunting target. The murals, called “Walls of Demand,” are the most well known venture of the group. With locations in Florida, New York, California and Texas, the powerful

art takes place in some of the most populated areas in America. With three already completed and 14 upcoming events, there will be 17 total pieces. They are highly confrontational, with many bearing the words “We Call BS” in sharp black text. In every single mural, though, there is one constant, or more appropriately 17 constants, taking the shape of hammered-in holes filled with a sunflower for each victim. Manuel Oliver’s most recent mural took place in Dallas, Texas near the NRA convention. In it, he depicted NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch and President Donald Trump as circus figures, Trump as the ringleader to Loesch’s clown. The pointed allegories have been focused not only on the NRA, but on politicians and people. Rather than ask, it seems, Manuel Oliver has been making demands. Students like Joaquin’s best friend, senior Sam Zeif, have also gotten involved in the organization. For them, the goal is the same, but the origin goes a little bit deeper. “Our team was put together by Guac. He chose his father, Manuel, to make a list of players,” Zeif said of the basketball team. “There [Joaquin] was again, bringing people together.” The group, brought together for not only athletics, but also to end corruption in referees, has since expanded to a more national view. Ultimately, despite the goal

Students and parents create organization in honor of Joaquin Oliver

Patricia Oliver gives her husband, Manuel, a hug and kiss after he completed his mural and performance art, depicting President Donald Trump and NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, at the Rally4Reform protest to push for gun reform at City Hall in Dallas on Saturday, May 5, 2018. The Olivers’ son Joaquin was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting. Photo courtesy of Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/TNS

to protect the children of the future, there is one true reason for all of this hard work. “Fighting alongside his family and friends is very empowering to me because he will not have died in vain,” Zeif said. To these students and parents, they are simply vessels for Joaquin. To his dad, Joaquin is the activist here. For his friends, everything they do is with the strength Joaquin gives them. “I feel him with me all the time and

have no worry of losing that feeling,” Zeif said of the future of Change the Ref. “With the passion and love of every member of the organization, there aren’t any worries to be had.” For Change the Ref, it seems worries are far away, overshadowed by the work of so many people. With art, passion and love, they will strive to achieve their goal of empowering the youth of America. Story by Delaney Tarr

Price of our Lives Students carry price tags to signify their worth to politicians who are funded by the NRA

P

rior to the marches that occurred around the world on March 24, 2018, March for Our Lives organizers made a file that was posted on the March for Our Lives website encouraging attendees from Florida to print out and wear a free price tag labeled $1.05 This bright orange tag for the students of Florida has a barcode that reads, “politicians like Marco Rubio receive millions from the NRA. Don’t put a price on us.” The March for Our Lives website explains that the $1.05 is calculated by taking the total dollar amount accepted by Sen. Marco Rubio from the National Rifle Association, approximately $3 million, divided by the total number of students enrolled in public and private schools in Florida, which is also approximately 3 million. Thus, the tag represents the presumed amount that each student is worth to those politicians who accept donations from the NRA. Junior Sarah Chadwick, an activist for the movement, also explained the significance of the $1.05 price tag in her speech at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington D.C. “We will not allow a price tag to be put upon our lives, be hunted down and treated like prey by politicians who simply

20 Activism • Organizations

don’t care about us,” Chadwick said in her speech. Senior Jose Iglesias also played a large role in the price tag movement when he calculated the public school enrollment to NRA money ratio in every state across the United States. Iglesias got the idea for the price tags when he saw a friend from another school wearing a similar tag. He felt that the tags were a great representation of human importance that anyone could easily understand. He decided everyone in all schools across America deserved to know how much politicians think they are worth. “I like the fact that, with the price tag comes a statement — a statement that is clear and to the point — and we can all stand behind the argument that senators just do not think we are worth much,” Iglesias said. MSD students had a tough message to be heard by Rubio during the March for Our Lives rally. Senior David Hogg, one of the student leaders from MSD, did not waste time in singling out his state senator during the speech he gave at the rally. He proudly hung the bright tag from the microphone as he began to deliver his speech. “I’m going to start off by putting this

price tag right here as a reminder for you guys to know how much Marco Rubio took for every student’s life in Florida,” Hogg said. Once his speech came to an end, the tag remained to remind everyone throughout the march of students’ worth. Despite the decline in media coverage, students continue to protest their perceived low worth by featuring the students on their backpacks at school. Many MSD students continue to wear these price tags on their now-mandated

clear backpacks. The practice also has been undertaken by students across the country in solidarity with the victims of the MSD tragedy. The price tags are one way that students continue to demand that legislators pass meaningful gun control legislation and call out politicians like Marco Rubio who continue to accept NRA money. The tags are a simple slip of paper, but once printed upon take on an entirely new meaning. The numbers are a representation of worth and a demand for action. Story and photo by Samantha Goldblum

Design by Lauren Newman

Warning The following content may be sensitive to some readers. This section contains information and images related to gun violence.

Gun Control • Graphic Content Warning 21

Design by Jacob Brown and Dara Rosen

Rifles vS handguns Semi-automatic Rifle

Bolt Action Rifle The mechanism of the bolt is simple and extremely rugged In general, they are more accurate than semi-automatics Available in virtually ever caliber imaginable Much lower rate-of-fire than with a semi-automatic The recoil of the bolt is substantially greater than the semi-automatic

Single shot rifles are usually break or bolt actions. Operating the lever, bolt or forend ejects the empty cartridge case, chambers a new round of ammunition and cocks the gun.

The rifle loads each round for the shooter Can follow up one shot immediatley with another The recoil is spread out which makes it less punishing Reload mechanism works at the expemnse of speed and range Reload mechanism leaves it vulnerable to jamming

Revolver

Holds rounds of ammunition in rotating cylinder Steel or aluminium frames help absorb recoil Easier to operate and learn to shoot There is a limited number of bullets available

Semi-automatic rifles are able to fire repeatedly through an automatic reloading process but require release and another pressure of the trigger for each successive shot.

Semi-automatic pistol

Revolvers are handguns that have a revolving chambered cylinder for holding a number of cartridges, which may be discharged in succession without reloading.

Modern revolvers are typically doubleaction

Typically holds up to seventeen rounds of ammo Most, like revolvers, are double-action

Carries twice as many bullets as the revolver counterpart Can be reloaded without looking at the gun Modern pistols often include m1913 rail interface systems

A semi-automatic pistol harnesses the energy of one shot to reload the chamber for the next. After a round is fired, the spent casing is ejected and a new round from the magazine is loaded into the chamber, allowing another shot to be fired as soon as the trigger is pulled again.

Most Manufactured Guns in The US

1 2 3 4 5

Pistols

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Ruger Lightweight Compact Pistol Springfield XD-S Sig Sauer P938 Glock G19

22 Gun Control • Guns in America

1 2 3 4 5

Revolvers

Heritage Arms Rough Rider

Taurus 85

Smith & Wesson 629 Ruger LCR

Ruger Blackhawk

1 2 3 4 5

Rifles

Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Colt LE6920

Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Ruger AR-556 DPMS Oracle Source: ABCNews

Design by Jacob Brown and Dara Rosen

History of gun control laws

1791

On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified. The second amendment stated that it was the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, and it was not allowed to be infringed.

1934

On June 26, 1934, the first gun control legislation was passed: the National Firearms Act. This act imposed taxes on specific firearms. The tax was $200 and was put in place to curtail the weapons.

1938

The FFA of 1938 required gun sellers, manufacturers and importers to obtain a license. It also denied the purchases of firearms to convicted felons.

1939

In United Sates v. Miller, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold that the NFA was constitutional.

1968

The Gun Control Act repealed and replaced the FFA. Imposed age restrictions, prohibited felons and mentally ill from buying guns.

1986

The Firearm Owners Protection Act was passed by Congress. It enacted protections for gun owners and loosened regulations on the sale and transfer of ammunition.

1993

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act which requires that background checks be completed before a gun is purchased from a licensed dealer.

1994

President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act which temporarily banned semi-automatic rifles to be manufactered, transfered or possessed.

2003

The Tiahrt Amendment prohibited the ATF from publicly eleasing data showing where criminals purchased their weapons and only law enforcemnet could see the information.

2005

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was signed by George W. Bush and it prevented manufacturers from being named by victims of crimes.

2008

District of Columbia v. Heller changed the handgun ban in Washington, D.C., because it violated the Second Amendment. Source: PBS

38% 1.69 of firearm

deaths and injuries

Are children and

young adults

million

kids are living

in households

with firearms

39% 1.4 or

149 million cilvilians

owned firearms

are handguns

68% of murders

committed In the

United states

involve firearms

million

guns are stolen

annually during

property related crimes

13,286 people

were killed In the U.S.

with firearms

in 2015

50% 300 of guns

are owned by 3%

of the adult

population in the U.S.

million

guns exist In the U.S.

more than twice

as many that existed in 1968

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, National Institute of Justice, National Public Radio

Gun Control • Guns in America 23

Design by Brianna Fisher

Amend this

W

ith the expiration of the National Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 in 2004, a United States federal law that included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms it defined as assault weapons, many states have turned to the federal government for assistance in creating gun laws. However, in the wake of the increasing number of mass shootings, some states have decided to take it upon themselves to determine the laws that best create a sense of safety for the citizens living there. One of the states that has changed their gun laws due to pressure from the citizens is Florida. Especially after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14. 2018, students and members of the Parkland community have been pushing for gun regulation. “I think the reason that Parkland has been so powerful against these existing gun laws is that we are taking action,” sophomore Sari Kaufman said. “For example, just at the Parkland march we got about 1,000 people registered or preregistered to vote.” On Mar. 9, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill that docraised the minimum age to buy an assault rifle from 18 to 21, called for measures to keep mentally ill or violent citizens from purchasing weapons, hardened background checks, banded the possession or sale of bump stocks and created a three day waiting period before buying an assault rifle. Additionally, Scott proposed $450 million in funding for school security and $50 million for mental health funding. “I have concentrated on what we do locally, because locally we can't make any rules with guns since it is all run by the state,” Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky said. “Up in Tallahassee this session I testified in court for common sense gun laws, like the banning of bump stocks and more background checks. On a local level, we would like to control as much as we can because we are closest to the residents and want to protect our home rule.” Coupled with the bill signed by Scott, the Florida Senate has proposed a bill to combat school safety issues. The Senate proposed $400 million for school resource officers and mental health counseling and a $67 million program to arm some teachers and school employees, called the “Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program.” However, there has been backlash against the bill by democrats in the Senate that disagree with arming teachers. “The Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program was originally called the marshall program, and I was against it,” Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz said. “I proposed two amendments, one on the floor and one on the house, to take it out of the bill. I don’t believe arming teachers is a solution or the solution. No empirical data will show that arming teachers has prevented this from happening or in the event that a teacher was armed it lead to different result. I also think that you will find that the overwhelming majority of schools will opt out of arming teachers.”

24 News • Gun Laws

Many local governments in Florida have come forward with issues against the state government facilitating gun laws. One major issue is that under Florida state law, local governments can not establish their own laws covering guns without serious punishments. Some politicians, however, feel that the local governments should be responsible for creating these laws that account for the necessary measures to keep their city safe. “The federal government is set up so that local governments cannot enact laws for firearms without severe penalties,” Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine said. “Several county commissioners believe this is unconstitutional and defies common sense that is supposed to keep the country safe.” Broward County, for example, is one of the cities that is suing the state of Florida over not having the ability to create their own gun laws. Some of the city commissioners have come together to write this lawsuit, with the intent to make the cities they live in and care for safe. “I do not want to see assault weapons being sold to individuals because there is no reason they need to have them,” Udine said. “We need to do whatever we can to get them out of hands of civilians; they are weapons of war and belong in the hands of soldiers, not civilians. From the lawsuit, I hope to see determination from the courts whether counties and local governments are able to enact reasonable laws for guns.” Another city that is suing the state of Florida for the restriction to create gun laws is Weston. This was brought up by the city’s mayor, Daniel Stermer after discussion with the city attorney and manager, with the lawsuit Weston v. Scott. Also suing is Mayor Andrew Gillum of Tallahassee, who actually won a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association (NRA), in which the gun lobby claimed that the Tallahassee City Commission violated the state statute when it refused to repeal decades old city codes that regulate firearm provisions, in Florida’s First District Court of Appeal. “My personal belief is that assault rifles should not be sold to civilians period,” Stermer said. “There is no reason civilians should have semi or automatic long guns. I am not idealistic, but I am a former prosecutor and have seen first hand what guns and bullets do to the human body. I don't care whatever numbers and letters name guns, because you can not tell me for these rifles are for hunting and protection. With this lawsuit, my hope is that the provisions that prevent elected officials from doing something will be

States change their gun laws in response to citizen’s demands

Changing the Dialogue. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey speaks at the Massachusetts Speaks Out Against Hate Rally on Nov. 17, 2016, on the steps of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Photo courtesy of Paul Marotta/Sipa USA/TNS

unconstitutional.” Following Florida’s lead, California has revised their gun laws. The state’s waiting period to buy a firearm has become the second longest in the country: 10 days. Other than California, only eight states and the District of Columbia have waiting periods before buying firearms. As with the proposal of any major gun reform bill, there have been some repercussions on changing gun laws in California. Petitioners Jeff Silvester and Brandon Combs, along with two nonprofits, filled a lawsuit stating that the 10 day waiting period is unconstitutional and would not work for people that already have guns. California disagreed, saying that the waiting period would help people that were buying a gun for the first time. “I don’t know if a ten day waiting period could happen in Florida, but three days is better than it used to be,” Stermer said. “Until the lobby that works really hard for this starts softening their positions, I’m not sure what possible. Change could come real fast if Florida legislatures change. We need to vote these legislatures out and vote in people that we believe in and that can create change quickly.” Similarly, Illinois has conformed to the shifting views on guns in America. In the town of Deerfield, Illinois, Mayor Harriet Rosenthal signed a bill that states: If the 18,000 residents of the Chicago suburb don't forfeit or secure weapons that fall under the ban by June 13th, they will be charged from $200 to $1,000 a day as a penalty. “I am hoping that the residences that have assault weapons will either destroy them, bring them to the police and turn them in, or if they feel the need to have them to take them out of our village and destroy them somewhere else,” Rosenthal said. “There already is a lawsuit, not on the second amendment but on going back to amend the ordinance, while it needs to be a brand new ordenience and changing

it is not Constitutional.” Taking a larger step into the assault rifle debate, Massachusetts has banned all assault rifles from the state. This ban not only gets rifles out of the hands of civilians, but also stops “copycat” or duplicate assault weapons from being sold. “I think that there is no place for weapons of war in civilian hands,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. “Most mass shooter’s weapons of choice are assault weapons and states need to take measures to ban these weapons. After reviewing the state’s assault weapons ban, I decided we needed to take action and continue to take action until every student in every school and every community is safe from gun violence.” As a result of the assault rifles ban in Massachusetts, a lawsuit was brought up in the district courts against Healey and Governor Charlie Baker. Despite what the NRA was hoping for, they won the lawsuit, allowing the ban to stay in place. “We think the NRA is wrong and last week we had big win over the them,” Healey said. “Federal judge Judge William Young dismissed the lawsuit stating that assault weapons are not within the scope of the second amendment. Even though the lawsuit will be challenged, I am tired of the gun lobby for breaking the law and I am hopeful and optimistic that the appeal and ultimately Supreme Court case will affirm the district court to have this remain in place.” With the increasing pressure to spark a larger debate over the topic of assault rifles, many states have heard these cries and responded by creating new laws to limit gun violence. While most citizens are pushing for these laws, some gun advocates have created a backlash surrounding the passing of each new bill in every state. Though lawsuits are expected, local and state governments are still trying to meet the needs of their citizens. Story by Brianna Fisher

the Smart choice?

B

y definition, a smart gun is a firearm that includes a safety feature or features that allow it to fire only when activated by an authorized user. This is achieved in different ways depending on the design, including through fingerprint sensors, radio-frequency identification, magnets and biometric sensors that unlock the weapon based on a combination of grip style, strength and the size of the person’s hand. The goal of a smart gun is to prevent misuse, accidental shootings, gun thefts and anyone except the owner from firing the weapon. According to Bloomberg, a politics, business and leisure website, smart guns would not have stopped the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School because the shooter had legal ownership of the weapon. However, preventing people from shooting guns that they do not own would reduce all sorts of violence, from suicides to accidental shootings by young children, even gun crimes that rely on stolen weapons. This technology has been around for years, but its introduction has long been blocked by the National Rifle Association and its allies. The NRA is fearful that if smart guns became popular, legislators would mandate that all guns be equipped with the smart gun technology.

The NRA fired against the smart gun technology stating in a 2014 article, “NRA does not oppose new technological developments in firearms; however, we are opposed to government mandates that require the use of expensive, unreliable features, such as grips that would read your fingerprints before the gun will fire. And NRA recognizes that the ‘smart guns’ issue clearly has the potential to mesh with the anti-gunner’s agenda, opening the door to a ban on all guns that do not possess the government-required technology.” Though there are alternating opinions on whether or not to popularize smart guns on the market, the reliability of the smart gun is uncertain. According to Policeone, a website devoted to all things regarding law enforcement officers, biometric technology, like fingerprint scanning, does not work 100 percent of the time, similarly to having wet fingers when trying to unlock an iPhone. The technology is also capable of being hacked. When former President Barack Obama was in office, he pushed for the adoption of this smart gun technology, especially in law enforcement agencies. He tasked the Department of Justice to do extensive research, such as reviewing the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies like fingerprint

scanning. The DOJ was also responsible for issuing voluntary guidelines for manufacturers to ensure that weapons are safe and reliable for law enforcement. Many law enforcement officers agree with the idea of having this technology provided to them. “I’m all for anything that would make people safer in society,” Broward County special investigative team officer Brian Pillado said while on duty at MSD. “I’ve known a police officer that got killed in the line of duty whose gun was stolen. I think this technology would be a great thing, and I would love to see it evolve into the hands of law enforcement.” Smart guns have the potential to guarantee additional safety for officers. According to the FBI, from 2006 to 2015, 24 police officers were murdered with their own weapon due to the “gungrabbing” issue. “If you’re in plain clothes, most officers don’t have safety holsters. If you had a gun that you were hands-on with a suspect, and the suspect got your gun, and you didn’t have to worry about it, that’d be nice,” former San Francisco Police Department Chief Greg Suhr said in an interview with 60 Minutes in 2016. Studies have also shown that smart guns are desirable to the everyday person. A 2015 poll conducted by Penn Schoen Berland found that 40 percent of gun

Types of smart guns

Design by Brianna Fisher

Smart guns are new alternative to the traditional gun

owners said they would swap their guns for smart guns. This same poll also found out that the younger the gun owner, the more likely they were to want to swap their guns for smart guns. However, smart guns are still not part of America’s norm. Though it does not require legislative action to get these types of guns on the market, manufacturers and retailers have faced numerous threats from the NRA and from anti-gun control advocates. For example, the firearm manufacturing company Smith & Wesson signed a 2001 agreement with the U.S. government promising to commit research to fund this smart technology and install locks on their guns. However, the reaction from the NRA and U.S. gun owners was so fierce that it resulted in Smith & Wesson’s sales to go down drastically and them having to fire 125 employees. Smart guns are another controversial aspect of the gun control debate. Though smart guns would probably not solve many of the nation’s gun violence issues, they have the possibility to make a start in preventing firearm cases that are stolen, misused or discharged accidentally. However, reliability and the NRA’s opposition are the things that just may be standing in the way for smart guns to become the norm. Story by Zoe Gordon

Public Opinion

46+T 62+T 46+T 39+T 51+T 55+T

Citizens are divided on whether or not smart guns are effective

Fingerprint scanner

Produced by Armatix, this smart gun includes a special wrist watch. Using radio-frequency identification, the watch communicates with the handgun and must be within 10 inches of the gun for the gun to work. In addition, the watch can also deactive the weapon for a period of time and can record the number of shots fired. Source: Armatix

Trigger sensor Biometric sensors

Fingerprint recognition is one of the most popular method used when producing smart guns. Offered by companies such as Safe Gun Technology Co. and Biofire Technologies, this type of handgun uses a fingerprint sensor that will unlock the firearm when the owner’s finger is pressed against the sensor.

LED indicator

Frequency watch Developed by New Jersey Institute of Technology, this smart gun uses sensors in the grip and trigger that learn the gun owner’s hand size, strength and grip. The gun also measures the reflexive way a person acts when the trigger is pulled, preventing others from firing a bullet. Source: NJIT.edu

46%

62%

of gunowners prefer a smart gun

of non-gunowners prefer a smart gun

77%

39%

of Americans think smart guns are a good idea

of Americans support banning the sale of non-smart guns

53%

55%

of Democrats support a smart gun law

of Republicans oppose a smart gun law

46+T 56%

Of those who own a gun don’t want a law that requires all guns to have smart gun technology

Source: YouGov

News • Smart Guns 25

Design by Rebecca Schneid

Addyson “Alpha Addy” Soltau, 9, tries out rifles on Saturday, May 5, 2018 in the Keystone Sporting Arms booth, maker of the Crickett youth rifle, which Soltau first learned to shoot with, at the 147th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits, in Dallas, Texas. Photo courtesy Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Industry Immunity

T

he legal process can be a fickle thing. When it comes to lawsuits in the private sector and the regulations in place to protect either citizens or businesses, the process becomes far more complicated. With the gun debate having been at the center of people’s attention following the tragedy of Feb. 14, a law passed in 2005 that protects firearm manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products, known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, has come under scrutiny. In the years prior to the passage of the law, those affected by gun violence in the United States were able to successfully sue the manufacturers and dealers of those firearms for negligence on the grounds that they should have been able to foresee that their products would be utilized for criminal use. In a desperate attempt for gun manufacturers to avoid what former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo dubbed as “death by a thousand cuts,” most of them complied with an agreement brokered by the government. In this agreement, companies voluntarily agreed to implement various measures and restrictions on their weapons in order to

26 Gun Control • NRA

settle the various lawsuits against them. Companies that did not agree to the restrictions were left vulnerable to a number of lawsuits that began to be compiled against them. In fact, in early 2005, New York City passed a law that explicitly allowed lawsuits to be put forward against the gun manufacturers that did not comply with the restrictions. Smith & Wesson, the company that brokered the agreement with former President Bill Clinton, stated that all authorized dealers and distributors of Smith & Wesson’s products had to abide by a “code of conduct” to eliminate the sale of firearms to prohibited persons. Additionally, dealers had to agree to not allow children under 18, without an adult present, access to gun shops or sections of stores that contained firearms. Following that agreement, a boycott led by the National Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation over the company’s potential sale of smart guns nearly led to the company’s bankruptcy. Despite an acquisition to bail them out of debt and refocus its marketing on big box retailers, the company has come under increased scrutiny. Its products have been used in a number of mass shootings, including the 2018 shooting at Marjory

An obscure 2005 law protects the gun industry from lawsuits

Stoneman Douglas High School, the 2015 San Bernardino attack and the 2012 Aurora shooting. Despite the recent scrutiny, the law itself has legitimate reasons for being both supported and opposed by the public. The support for the law is based on the reasoning that a company should not be held responsible for actions they have no control over. “You shouldn’t be able to sue a hammer company if someone decides to assault someone with that hammer, if it was purchased legally,” senior Spencer Frybergh said. “Guns are obviously more dangerous, but the companies who agreed said they would not sell it to minors without parents’ permission. The law is there to make sure that companies are protected from the actions of individuals.” However, for some members of the public who would prefer to focus on public safety, they feel as though the law represents a shield for the gun industry, as their products continue to threaten the lives of the common man. Their argument is that were the gun industry still open to lawsuits, the companies and manufacturers would be more inclined to enhance the safety of the public through increased safeguards in obtaining firearms

and the prevention of dangerous members of society getting their hands on those weapons. “The law is there to protect an industry in the U.S. from being bankrupted, but the weapons they are making are causing the deaths of regular people who didn’t sign up for it,” senior Scott Hafetz said. “The changes they made after the law weren’t enough to stop these shootings. The law needs to be looked at again to make sure that people are safe from the damage that guns can cause.” Experts continue to argue that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act hinders the safety enhancement and the self-regulation that can be achieved through liability claims against the gun industry. It also continues to provide the industry with immunity from accountability, which contributes to illegal gun sales, negligent marketing and failure to apply safer design choices. The legal argument made is also a powerful one. The protection for the industry is there to help maintain a significant portion of the American economy from being damaged through various lawsuits and allows a precedent that transfers responsibility onto those who commit acts of violence. Story by Lewis Mizen

Design by Rebecca Schneid

Under the scope and the use of shotguns and Thompson guns in urban areas. The NRA supported lawmakers’ moves to restrict access to these weapons, which were included in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal package. They also supported extended legislation following the assassinations of he National Rifle Association President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther was founded in 1871 by Civil King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy. War veterans Gen. George Notably, and most recently, the NRA Wingate and Col. William C. supported California Gov. and later Church to promote marksmanship and president Ronald Reagan’s 1967 attempt the practice of rifle shooting, as they were disappointed by the skills they saw to curb “open carry” usage of firearms through the Mulford Act, a move made in their own troops during and after the in response to members of the Black war. The group’s first activities involved Panther Party carrying shotguns and organized shooting competitions, rifles on the grounds of the California tournaments and pistol matches. Soon after their creation, though, the Capitol and using loopholes in California gun laws to empower black Californians NRA formed a committee to lobby for in their fight for equal rights. legislation. The first of these lobbying The NRA began the formation of efforts was directed toward funding a gun its political agenda in 1934 with the range in New York. From then on, the lobbying group worked to pass laws that foundation of its Legislative Affairs Division in response to political attacks would benefit the gun community and on the Second Amendment, which did the NRA’s pro-gun political stances. not lobby legislators directly, but sent Furthermore, they worked to information to members who could incorporate youth participation in then take steps on their own. In 1975, shooting sport events, including the NRA started to lobby directly with groups such as 4-H, the Boy Scouts of the establishment of the Institute for America, the American Legion, Royal Legislative Action, or ILA. This section Rangers, National High School Rodeo Association and others. In 1903, the Civil of the association remains central to the NRA to this day. Marksmanship Program was authorized NRA-ILA uses grassroots mobilization, as a method to train civilians who wished a characteristic tool of interest groups. to serve in the U.S. military, and the program ended up manufacturing pistols Grassroots movements use local community power and volunteers who for the NRA members. are private citizens to raise awareness The NRA also takes a leading role and money for their cause, then slowly in firearms education, with regards to branching out to other communities. hunting, law enforcement and civilian use. With special certification programs, Ways to do this, specifically for the NRA, are going to gun shows, going door-tothe NRA boasts over 125,000 instructors door, making phone calls, registering who educate over 1 million gun owners people to vote, hosting events and using per year. social media. Today, the NRA is more well-known The NRA is one of the most powerful as one of the most formidable legislative groups to influence policy. Their funding interest groups in American politics. and political clout are far-reaching, and An interest group is an organization many conservative congressional and that wishes to influence public policy presidential candidates rely on their regarding a certain issue. For the NRA, endorsement in order to ensure that they this issue would be anything regarding will win their respective elections. One firearms or the Second Amendment, which protects Americans’ constitutional way that the NRA endorses and rejects politicians is by rating them on a scale right to bear arms. that runs from A to F, with nuances such Politically, though, the NRA was not as pluses and minuses included as well. always so staunchly against gun reform. “The NRA is very arbitrary. In fact, if During the Prohibition era in the 1930s, I’m not mistaken, I won’t swear to you there was a major rise in gang crime

The NRA grows from a shooting range club to the largest interest group in the U.S.

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on this, you and you could cast exactly the same votes and you get a different rating,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. “It is extremely arbitrary.” Another way that the NRA supports candidates is by contributing money to their political campaigns through political action committees and independent expenditures, or “soft money.” Independent expenditures are advertisements or activities which endorse or promote a certain candidate, but are not associated with that candidate’s campaign directly, instead created independently by the group. They are also where the NRA spends most of its campaign money, a significant $144.3 million from 1998 to 2016. Among direct candidate contributions, in the 2018 election cycle, the NRA has contributed about $200,800 to Republicans and $7,000 to Democrats. The top overall recipient is the National Republican Congressional Committee and the top individual recipient is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. “I knew who the NRA was before this... but I never knew the amount of money they spent on candidates or the extent of their influence,” freshman Zachary Beer said. “Before this, I never really thought about it, and I never really cared. But then, this happened to me, and I’m starting to realize the way it works.” While the NRA is most known for their visible spokespeople like Dana Loesch, the real leader of the group is CEO Wayne LaPierre, who also functions as the executive vice president. The NRA is also governed by a board of 76 elected directors. The executive director of the NRA-ILA lobby group is Chris Cox. Other notable figures in NRA leadership are performer Ted Nugent, who most recently made headlines for saying that Parkland students “have no souls,” actor Tom Selleck, former NRA president Marion Hammer, former NBA player Karl Malone and Oliver North, who is currently poised to be LaPierre’s successor. In the wake of the recent debate of gun culture in America, many have questioned the role of the NRA and its control in the country’s political climate. More specifically, they question whether the efforts of the NRA are as honorable as they profess, and whether the original

purpose of the organization is the same today. “The NRA is a company, so it doesn’t matter if a policy is good for the public or not, the NRA will support it if it makes them money,” junior Alfonso Calderon said. “I think, originally, the NRA made sense as it allowed people to create a relationship with firearms. But, they realized that by representing gun companies, they would make so much money… They brand themselves as an organization that protects the second amendment, when they really protect gun companies.” Many others in America, find that the NRA still has merit, holding true to their title as the “first civil rights organization in America.” These staunch supporters believe that despite some flaws, the organization is essential to prevent infringements of the government on their second amendment rights. “I had and continue to have a favorable opinion of the NRA, [because] they advocate for second amendment rights” senior Jalen Martin said. “I plan on joining the NRA as a member, especially after this. I’ve seen how a lot of people have taken this as an opportunity to go after guns. But, I don’t want that; I still want my ability to protect myself.” Many on both sides, though, have become concerned in general with the influence of corporations like the NRA in many different issues that have immense control over policy. In 2010, the Supreme Court decided in the Citizens United vs. FEC case that organizations were an extension of individuals and therefore had the right to donate to political campaigns and support individual candidates in election. The extension of this right has been called into question. “The NRA does give money to political campaigns, and that is something that we need to look at,” Martin said. “This lobbying happens in every industry, especially the pharmaceutical industry. We should maybe put some caps onto [donations of money]- make things more honest in Washington.” Those on both sides of the aisle see that the issue of lobbying, specifically in regard to the NRA is one of significance in the discussion of gun control that has arisen. Story by Rebecca Schneid and Nikhita Nookala

The Power of the NRA How the NRA spends money to influence politics $10,180,732 Gun Related Campaign Donations 1989-2016

85+15

15%

NRA support for presidential candidates 2012 election

$10.6 million $2.7 million 816 300+

gun control groups

Support Mitt Romney

85% NRA

Oppose Barack Obama

2016 Election

$19.7 million $9.8 million 740 370+ Oppose Hillary Support Donald Trump

Clinton

80+T 40+T 80%

40%

of NRA donations are given to Republicans

of NRA members are minorities Hispanics

23%

of NRA members are Democratic party members

were spent lobbying for gun rights in 2017

307 8

members of Congress receive money from the NRA

members of Congress received more than $1 million from the NRA Source: The Business Insider

Gun Control • NRA 27

Design by Nikhita Nookala

The Eagle Eye editorial board proposes a set of discussion points

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The Eagle Eye

s a student publication, The Eagle Eye works to tell the stories of those who do not have a voice. Today, we are the ones who feel our voice must be elevated. In the wake of the tragedy that occurred at our school on Valentine’s Day, our lives have changed beyond what we ever imagined. We, along with our publication, have been transformed. We will remain so for the rest of our lives.

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We have a unique platform as not only student journalists, but also as survivors of a mass shooting. We are first-hand witnesses to the kind of devastation that gross incompetence and political inaction can produce. We cannot stand idly by as the country continues to be infected by a plague of gun violence that seeps into community after community and leaves irreparable damage to the hearts and minds of the American people.

That’s why The Eagle Eye editorial board has come together and proposed that these following changes must be put in place in our federal and state governments to ensure that mass shootings and gun violence cease to be a staple of American culture. By making some or all of these changes, we hope to see an observable decrease in gun violence in the nation, especially in communities that have had to live with it silently for so

many years. It is time that we take action, no matter what side of the aisle we are on, to prevent the heartbreak we have felt in this community from being felt anywhere else in this country. These may not be the ultimate solutions, and they are certainly not the views of all MSD students, but they provide a launching point from which to start debate and compromise. Without either we will achieve nothing. Editorial by The Eagle Eye editorial board

Ban the sale of semi-automatic weapons that fire high velocity rounds to the public

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ivilians shouldn’t have access to the same weapons that soldiers do. That’s an extreme exploitation of the Second Amendment. These weapons were

designed for dealing death: not to animals or targets, but to other human beings. These weapons are bought and sold solely as collectibles and have no practical use in society. The

fact that they can be bought by the public does not promote domestic tranquility, but rather puts us in the kind of danger faced by men and women trapped in war zones. This

situation reflects a failure of our government to protect us. It must be corrected to ensure the safety of those guaranteed the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Ban accessories that simulate automatic weapons, like bump stocks

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igh capacity magazines played a huge role in the shooting at our school. In less than seven minutes, 17 people were killed, and 17 others were injured. This is unacceptable. That’s why

we believe that bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and similar accessories that simulate the effects of a military-grade automatic weapon should be banned. Bump stocks allow a gun to deploy dozens of bullets

in seconds. In the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, 58 people were killed, and 851 others were injured by gunfire. The gunman’s use of bump stocks enabled unimaginable numbers

of people to be hurt while gathered in one of the most iconic cities in America. If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. That’s why action must be taken to remove these accessories from the market.

Establish an electronic database of gun sales and universal background checks

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e believe that there should be a database that records which guns are sold in the United States, to whom and of what caliber and capacity they are.

Just as the Department of Motor Vehicles has a database of license plates and car owners, the Department of Defense should have a database of gun serial numbers and gun owners.

This data should be paired with infractions of gun laws, past criminal offenses and the status of the gun owner’s mental health and physical capability. Together with universal

background checks, this system would help law enforcement stop a potentially dangerous person before they commit a gunrelated crime.

Change privacy laws to allow mental healthcare providers to communicate with law enforcement

A

s seen in the tragedy at MSD, the lack of communication between mental healthcare providers and law enforcement enabled a disturbed person with murderous intentions to enter our school and gun down 17

28 Gun Control • The Eagle Eye Manifesto

people in cold blood. We must improve this channel of communication. To do so, privacy laws should be amended to allow mental health professionals to alert authorities when their client or patient has explicitly stated that they will

commit an act of violence. That will allow law enforcement to restrict firearm access for people who are a danger to themselves or to others. That could help prevent future tragedies. We are not in favor of allowing mental health

professionals to become a channel by which the authorities exploit the mentally ill; we simply want preventable tragedies to be prevented, especially if the person in question has displayed extreme propensity to violence.

Design by Nikhita Nookala

Manifesto

5

Close gun shows and second-hand sales loopholes

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hanks to loopholes, people who otherwise would not be able to buy firearms are able to purchase them at gun shows and second-

hand sales. If we are serious about preventing people from purchasing deadly weapons, we must monitor purchases that take place at gun shows and on

second-hand markets. This is especially urgent as the dangers of mentally unstable and violent individuals armed with firearms continue to rise in recent

years. By eliminating gun show loopholes, communities can be more secure in knowing who has access to deadly weapons.

Allow CDC to make recommendations for gun reform

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he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be allowed to conduct research on the dangers of gun violence. Republicancontrolled Congresses have historically threatened to cut funding from the CDC unless

research into gun controlrelated subjects was stopped. The NRA has also accused the CDC, an independent government agency, of being in favor of gun control. The fact that they are threatened into silence and

complacency regarding gun violence undermines the First Amendment and the right of the American people to be aware of statistics regarding gun violence and gun violence solutions. It is hypocritical to rally people to protect the Second Amendment,

while remaining silent on the ways that blocking research violates our most basic constitutional freedom. With access to peer-reviewed information, citizens can make informed decisions on the efficacy of proposed gun laws.

Raise the age for firearm purchase to 21

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ithin a few months from now, a significant portion of the MSD student body will be 18. We will not be able to drink; we will not be able to rent a car. Most of us will still be living with our parents. We will not

be able to purchase a handgun. And yet, in another state, we will be able to purchase an AR-15. Why is it that we will be able to legally obtain a weapon that has the ability to fire over 150 rounds and kill 17 people

in about six minutes? That is unacceptable. It is absurd that to buy a handgun, you have to be 21, but a gun of mass destruction and devastation like the AR-15 can be purchased when one is just becoming an adult.

With the exception of those who are serving the United States in the military, the age to obtain any firearm must be raised to 21. Other states, and even the federal government, should follow Florida’s lead in this initiative.

Dedicate more funds to mental health research and professionals

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he federal government and state governments should earmark more funds specifically for mental health services. Those with mental health issues, especially those who express aggressive,

violent, suicidal and/or homicidal thoughts should have the opportunity to receive the help they need regardless of their economic status. Schools specifically should receive more funds in order to

hire more psychologists and guidance counselors who can aid students suffering from PTSD, depression and other debilitating mental illnesses. Many of those who commit mass shootings suffer from

these kinds of illnesses. It is essential that more funds be dedicated to mental health research and treatment. However, it is also important not to attach the stigma of violence to mental health patients.

Increase funding for school security

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e believe that schools should be provided sufficient funds for school security and resource officers to protect and secure the entire campus. As a school of over 3,000 students, teachers and faculty, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was only

supplied funds to hire one oncampus armed resource officer by the state. Without backup, this officer’s hesitation proved to be disastrous and allowed for the senseless murder of students and teachers in the 1200 building to continue onto the

second and third floors. Though this idea has been proposed in the past, these funds should not be appropriated from the already scarce funding for public education. In Broward County, $100 million have been appropriated for safety

through the SMART initiative, but few programs have been put into place. Federal and state governments should find resources to secure the children that attend public schools without taking away from the quality of education at these institutions.

Gun Control • The Eagle Eye Manifesto 29

Design by Lauren Newman

my story

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couldn’t help but notice chocolates, friends and smiles. Those observations later turned into bullet holes, a shattered classroom door and the fear that I was going to die. I was strolling along hallways filled with couples and smiles across every face I passed by. My day was slowly coming to an end, as I walked alongside my friend Alyssa Alhadeff into fourth period. She was wearing a black and white T-shirt dress — the perfect dress for a perfect day. We laughed and took our seats, practicing for our FSA exam coming up. “Can we just leave?” she said to me. I wish that we had just left. But, we didn’t. We continued writing and laughing — until the sound of bullets and screams came about our classroom. I looked at Alyssa, and she made a face that will never leave my memory. When I saw her expression, I knew something was

Freshman Eden Hebron shares her experience from Feb. 14

wrong. Maybe this was a drill or maybe this was just a weird thought happening in my head. I trusted my instincts, though, and rushed across the door under a table. I spotted Alyssa, across from me. She moved, then took shelter with the others behind my freshman English teacher’s desk. She was kneeling down — exposed. But, we didn’t think much of it. Anyways, we lived in Parkland. I planted myself there, staring at Alyssa and praying that nothing was going on. I was wrong. There was a shooter. And he was slowly but surely approaching my classroom. The sound of an AR-15, the sight of glass in front of me and the sharp sensation of my body clenching to avoid getting killed made it a reality. I twisted my head to see Alyssa collapse as three bullets struck her body. She screamed for her life, but it was not enough. The bullets were too strong and powerful for her body. I called for her. I called, “Alyssa! Alyssa!” but there was nothing else to do. She was just murdered. The shooter didn’t shoot my class once. He came twice. It had felt to me like he was deliberately going after my English class. It had felt like a war between room 1216 and a gunman — a war that I didn’t sign up for. I sat there, thinking I may have just watched Alyssa die, but someone might now watch me die. I was supposed to be next, but I wasn’t. Twenty minutes later, the police came in and yelled at us to run. But, I couldn’t help

but see the aftermath of my classroom. It wasn’t just one victim murdered in my English class. Alex Schachter, Alaina Petty and Alyssa Alhadeff were all writing an essay one minute and the next, they were killed. Seeing my fellow classmates’ bodies was the most terrifying image I have ever seen. I still see those images every day, and I have a hard time imagining a day when I won’t. One week later, I decided that experiencing a mass shooting first-hand had made me want to make a change. I felt like I needed to make a change — like I owed it to them. My views were altered, and my life was changed the minute the gunman brought a weapon of war into room 1216. As a result, my newfound focus became gun control. School safety is critical; mental health is important, but none of that will succeed if we refuse to eliminate the weapons of war. They go hand-in-hand. An AR-15 was used in Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, Pulse nightclub and now our high school. These weapons do not belong in the hands of civilians. Their sole purpose is for killing. It is time that our government recognizes the pattern. Without a semi-automatic weapon, the shooter wouldn’t have been able to shatter the glass of our classroom door to get to my classmates. Without an assault rifle, the shooter wouldn’t have been able to fire 160 rounds of ammunition in the freshman building. Without a semi-automatic weapon, the shooter wouldn’t have been

able to murder 17 innocent souls that day. To those who are fighting for school safety, keep fighting, keep advocating for anything that could’ve saved at least one of our fellow Eagles. What happened on Feb. 14 has become the new America. I refuse to allow any more children to have to watch their friends die. I refuse to allow anyone else to have to prepare for their last moments of life while simply sitting in English class. We will keep marching, fighting and advocating until we succeed in giving citizens what they deserve: to live in a safe environment where they don’t have to worry if this day will be their last. This tragedy has affected me in ways I can’t even explain. But, I can say that I am more determined than ever to be part of this movement that is going to guide generations to come. Feb. 14 was many things. It was the day I lost friends, the day I thought would be my last and the day my life was altered forever. It will always be a part of me; it has become a part of who I am. It has also made me stronger, smarter and committed — committed to make sure that no other community must feel the pain and sorrow that we do. Their names will never be forgotten. For Alyssa, Alex, Alaina, Gina, Luke, Martin, Peter, Scott, Aaron, Chris, Meadow, Joaquin, Jaime, Cara, Helena, Nick and Carmen. We are fighting for you. And we love you, forever. Guest editorial by Eden Hebron

Stronger Together

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t is easy to misconstrue the meaning of a story once it turns into hearsay, so allow me to first dispel any misconceptions that may have been floating around since I decided that my voice is just as important as that of anyone else’s in this world. I support the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the #NeverAgain movement and any other movement advocating for the lives of innocent people around the world. I am not a separatist, nor am I racist, nor do I seek to “divide” the #NeverAgain movement. I believe that we are all a part of this movement regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, as long as we can acknowledge the fact that shootings are a problem in this country

30 Gun Control • Guest Editorials

and need to be addressed. With that acknowledgement comes a fork in the road, where the question “what do we want to do about it?” is asked. The answer to that question is just as multifaceted as the movement itself. We cannot focus solely on guns, or solely on mental health, or solely on school security, but we must push for a composite approach that adequately addresses all of these things. The miscommunication lies where we feel that advocating for one solution means that the other is not important. I can give a speech about gun control, but that does not mean that we don’t need better security in our schools or that we don’t need more funding for mental health services. Miscommunication also lies where a person feels that an argument is a personal attack on their morality, which it usually is not. Those who truly believe that the majority of “liberals” want to “take all of our guns away” simply have not listened to anything that we have had to say, and that is truly a shame. Though I stand by my statement that we are one movement, it is important to realize that we do not all share the same opinions and concerns. In such a diverse society, conflicting perspectives are inevitable. In a society that still has remnants of the oppressive structures

used to enslave my ancestors, conflicting perspectives are inevitable. In a society where upon seeing a badge, my first thought is that I hope I told my siblings I loved them today, just in case they won’t be able to hear their sister’s voice again, conflicting perspectives are inevitable. So, what do we do to begin the process of making our country safer for all communities? As far as gun laws, the implementation of stricter laws such as requiring universal background checks and mental health evaluations for all firearms would do a great deal to prevent mass shootings in this country. Unfortunately, it would do nothing for the shootings that take place every day, especially in communities of color. We need to pressure our legislators in cracking down on the illegal sale and distribution of firearms because the majority of the shootings that take place in urban communities on a daily basis are done with illegal handguns. These instances are ignored and labeled as “gang retaliation,” leaving innocent children in black neighborhoods unsafe and unprotected. We also need to ensure that we are all exercising our constitutional right to vote. Get registered and get to the polls no matter what you believe in; be sure to educate yourself as well. Know the way

We must put aside our differences to ensure a safer tomorrow

that your region and your state conduct elections. Research all of the candidates and nominees that are up for election and know what they stand for, their prior voting history if they have been elected before and what organizations they are funded by. I would urge you to do this research even before you register to vote, as Florida is a closed primary election state (you can only vote for candidates that affiliate with the political party you register under in the primaries). Make a point of researching and fully understanding legislation as it is proposed. Many times, politicians word a specific policy in a way that is so elusive, you do not realize it could in its implementation prove detrimental to you or to the people you advocate for. Once we can make an informed decision on who and what we are voting for, we can really make sure that the people we elect represent our interests as a whole. We have all come from different walks of life, but miraculously, a majority of the country has come together to fight for our lives. None of us want anyone else to experience what we had to experience, and that drives us every day to fight for change and progress. If we march forward together, I am confident the day will come when every community is safe. Guest editorial by Tyah-Amoy Roberts

Pro-Protection

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here is a reason the Founding Fathers made the Second Amendment the amendment that it is. The First Amendment is the right to free speech, assembly, religion, press, etc. The Founding Fathers knew that this was the most important thing because without free speech or thought, there is no humanity. But, what stops the government from taking that very right away? The Second Amendment is what stops the corruption of government. The Second Amendment was not put in place because the Founding Fathers loved to hunt, nor was it put in place for recreation like gun ranges; the Second

Amendment was put in the Bill of Rights at the second spot because the Founding Fathers knew that there would come a time that Americans would once again need to fight tyranny like they had just done. I would like to reiterate, the Second Amendment is not for hunting, the Second Amendment is about the right to personal protection. Many people say it is outlandish to think that the government will turn on its people, but is it really? The first thing Hitler did was take the guns from the Jews, resulting in 6 million dead. The first thing Mao Zedong did was take the guns from his people, resulting in an estimated 60 million dead. The list goes on and on in recent history of dictators, not in America, but in countries around the world that have taken the right to protect oneself away and then murdered millions of people. Based on all this evidence, to me the Second Amendment is the most important amendment. That being said, I don’t believe everyone should have access to a gun. A gun is a very serious responsibility, and it does take training to know how to use one properly. I do not believe in gun control on the scale that has been recently promoted by groups such as March For Our Lives.

Design by Lauren Newman

We must uphold the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment

However, I do believe we need to focus on mental health and the broken background check system; I think there should be a way, without invading privacy, for a gun dealer to access records from other states so that a dangerous person cannot go across state lines to buy a gun. There are currently some holes in that system that need to be fixed. We have the system set up, but we need to use it in order for it to be effective. While I do believe in stronger background checks, I do not support a gun registry because it would make it too easy for the government to be able to find people with guns and take them. I believe more strongly in a mental health approach to gun control, making sure people that are not fit to have a gun, can’t get one. That is why we need to fix the background check system and have things like the gun violence restraining order, such as the one passed in Florida a few weeks after the shooting at MSD. Better outreach for troubled kids, not just adults that will discipline them if they do something wrong, but other kids that can “WalkUp” and be a friend and make them feel welcome. Small things like this will give troubled kids a place to bring their problems and realize that someone cares about them. I believe this will be a

Hurt and unheard

I was 16 years old. I bled out, and it took 35 units of blood and platelets to resuscitate me. I was in the hospital for several weeks: four surgeries, 22 staples and 400 stitches was only the beginning of the fight for my life. I’ve been surviving that night every day since. I know what it’s like to constantly have to suppress your thoughts while speaking about being shot just to avoid confrontation, triggering other survivors, making people feel uncomfortable and averting politics because I am a young woman of color, and the conversation is different due to that. I’ve been an activist for six years. The efore Parkland, our youth and coverage was different for me. It wasn’t students were the victims of there at all. I was probably just another gun violence. I can say this because I was one of them. I had statistic to my detectives, and I say so because I’ve never spoken to them. to take a road many have had to take, Since the tragedy in Parkland, I’ve unfortunately. I had to pray and hold on to been asked several times why I feel like faith that I would make it to see another the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High sunrise. In many communities of color, a School students and affluent communities daily thought for some is, “will I make it get more attention from mainstream home?” media, and honestly, I do not have a On April 18, I was shot in a drive-by simple answer for that. After all, I’m still shooting in Miami Gardens. I was out wondering why I did not get as much celebrating my sister’s 22nd birthday. media attention as a survivor or activist. Upon dropping a passenger off at home, Though I was not shot in school, I was my sister’s car was riddled with bullets in the 11th grade and had to deal with from a high powered rifle, an AK-47. I the reality of returning to school and the was shot in the hip while laying flat on the backseat and covering her 2-year-old anxiety and stress it would put on me. My detectives deemed my case a “result godson. of ongoing gang retaliation” in that The bullet went through the bumper, neighborhood and told my family to “be trunk and backseat before entering and glad I am okay” and that we were just “in damaging my hips, small intestines, bladder, reproductive organs and severing the wrong place at the wrong time.” They later filed my case inactive due my nerves, leaving me with drop foot, or difficulty lifting the front part of my foot, to a lack of leads. I never got justice or closure. This leads me to question, am and mental scars that will never fade.

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huge help, a lot more effective than any gun law because looking at all of the mass shooters over the years, they’ve all come from bad home lives, bad situations and didn’t have anyone in their life they felt they could turn to. I do not believe in the banning of AR-15s or any other “assault rifle.” First off, what is an assault rifle? There is no definition because assault rifles do not exist. An AR-15 is just like any other semiautomatic rifle; you pull the trigger once, one bullet comes out, and the action loads the next bullet into the chamber. I do not see a problem with a citizen owning an AR-15; it is not a “military gun.” The U.S. military has never issued AR-15s to its soldiers. On the issue of limiting magazine capacity, 10 30-round magazines is the same as 30 10-round magazines. They still have 300 bullets, and reloading does not take a significant amount of time. To conclude with a final point, criminals don’t follow laws. All of these gun control laws will only take guns away from law abiding citizens that would use them to defend themselves. No matter what is banned, criminals will find a way to get them and use them, and they will have an unfair advantage because they will be the only ones with that banned item. Guest editorial by Patrick Petty

Six years after I was shot, I’m still fighting to get my story heard

I okay? Is there ever a right place or a right time for gun violence? Why do we judge others and place them in different categories of gun violence victims and attach labels to their unfortunate reality? You tell me. Would it change the narrative of my story if I included the fact that I didn’t reside in that neighborhood, wasn’t in a gang and was not the target in my shooting? When we called the police that night, they asked us, “what are you doing in the neighborhood at this time?” before asking if everyone was okay. This is how shootings are dealt with when even your police department has become desensitized to the violence plaguing their community. It was hard for me to grasp the shooting and how it would affect my future. I wondered, would I make it to graduation or be able to have kids? Could this happen again? The fact is, the answer to that is yes. Just because you survive a shooting does NOT mean you are exempt from it taking a toll on your life once again. Guns continue to be available to the public, and shootings continue to happen. Shootings still take place almost every day in the neighborhood where I got shot. Unfortunately, our problem is going to get worse if we don’t wake up and really come up with sensible solutions. We must keep up the fight, learn how to lift every voice in our community, bridge the gaps and spread love. We’ve heard after many of these mass shootings that it’s too soon to talk gun control. Our leaders often shy away from the fact that tomorrow will be too late for someone whose family will be touched

by this violence in the night — someone whose story may not hit mainstream media the next morning. There is indeed something different about the Parkland shooting. A lot of people saw their loved ones in the 17 angels who gained their wings on Feb. 14. Maybe they weren’t seeing themselves in the youth that look like me who are affected by shootings daily. How could they if our stories aren’t on TV for weeks and months after and sometimes not even days? In communities like Liberty City, Overtown, Miami Gardens, Brownsville, Little Haiti, Little Havana and Allapattah, we need more access to resources. It should not be easier to get a gun than a job. Access to level one trauma centers could really be the difference between life and death. As a regional chapter coordinator for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, I’d love to see more trauma recovery centers in communities most impacted by crime. Our justice system should prioritize prevention, healing, health and recovery if they truly want to break the cycles of crime. After school programs and summer camps need to be funded. These programs often provide a place for students to get help and support when they’re out of school as well as ensuring that youth are not on the streets. In these communities, preventative measures cannot stop at school safety; our kids need a safe way home too. I know change comes with consistency, so I won’t stop until the shootings do. What about you? Guest editorial by Megan Hobson

Gun Control • Guest Editorials 31

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Aiming For Peace Gun violence continues to be daily problem in many urban communities

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his past Valentine’s Day, the South Florida community was devastated by the deadliest high school shooting in United States history. The result was 17 dead, 17 injured and countless more left traumatized. While the community grieved and prayed, some turned towards political activism for solace. They spoke out against the devastation that gun violence inflicts. Mass shootings in America are not anything new. Gun violence is not something rare. There are schools and communities that have been suffering from it much longer and much more often than the people of South Florida have, yet their voices often go unnoticed. The students from southern Los Angeles and South Side Chicago for instance, fear for their lives daily because of the gun violence that plagues their communities. Their struggles do not usually make the national news, but it represents a more common form of gun violence in America. It is simply because these urban communities are places where gun violence is rather typical. It is, in a way, just a fact of life. Each homicide after homicide fails to grab the attention a seemingly random mass shooting at a school, church or theater draws. Evidently, the national conversation tends to brush over these areas where gun violence runs rampant. In Boston, more than half of all gun violences cases are concentrated within less than 3 percent of the streets and intersections of the area. According to a study in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, these incidents “seem to be the primary drivers of overall gun violence trends in Boston.” The horrors of gun violence are most prevalent in these disadvantaged urban cities, where homicide rates reach more than 10 times the national average according to a PICO National Network report. “This is happening over and over again,” Thurgood Marshall Academy senior Zion Kelly said in his speech at the March for Our Lives. “Dozens of students have been shot and killed — more than in Florida — and we’re not getting the same attention.”

Kelly’s twin brother Zaire was shot and killed as a result of gun violence in Washington D.C. in the fall of 2017. Similarly in Oakland, “about 1,000 active members of a few dozen street groups drive most homicides.” These 1,000 people represent only .3 percent of the Oakland population, yet they are responsible for the majority of murders. They argue that they do not trust the police to keep them safe. Thus, “they take matters into their own hands (with their own firearms),” said Vaughn Crandall, a senior strategist

“

Suddenly, people are talking about students not feeling safe in schools. But in reality, students in our city’s south and west side have never felt safe. at the California Partnership for Safe Communities. For the urban community, it is incredibly difficult to hear the tone of the gun violence conversation resonating on a different wavelength, especially when it is directed largely to the white, middle-class. For them, their misery of gun violence is different. Their tears and bloodshed are in a steady relentless rhythm rather than disparate eruptions of mass murder. The truth is the bulk of the nation’s gun violence is carried by a very small group of people. America’s exceedingly high-rate of gun murders are not due to events like Parkland or Sandy Hook, but are rather driven by the relentless deaths of blacks in the urban communities. The majority of these shootings do not affect most affluent, white Americans, because so many of them take place in impoverished, minority, urban areas. Even though only about 13 percent of the general population is black, more than half of murder victims in 2016 were black, with 73 percent of them murdered by guns according to FBI homicide data. Nonetheless, legislatures seem to have long regarded this crisis as another societal norm. Michael McBride, a pastor who has been a strong advocate for

”

The Effects of Gun Violence A woman is comforted while crying after trying to enter the crime scene where a man was fatally shot near the intersection of West 13th Street and South Throop Street Monday April 30, 2018 in Chicago. Photo courtesy of Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

programs that reduce urban violence, credits this oversight to the fact it is blacks not whites who are the primary victims. Data from the Center for Disease Control supports this striking disparity as “black Americans are, on average, eight times more likely to be killed by firearms than those who are white.” According to a public health study at Boston university, “the black homicide rate for urban areas in Missouri was higher than the total death rate from any cause in New York State [in 2015].”

From 2010-2016, Massachusstts’ gun

homicide rate rate fell by 35 percent after investing in community-based

gun violence reduction strategies 32 Gun Control • Urban Gun Violence

Mass shootings on the other hand, feel different. People believe that they can take place anywhere so they feel like a more plausible threat. Aside from local news, the everyday deaths in urban communities rarely receive much media coverage and most of the public rarely seems to take notice. America’s urban youth are especially vulnerable to the dangers of gun violence. In one study of inner-city youth, 42 percent said they have seen someone get shot or stabbed and 22 percent reported they have seen someone get killed. On

$7

Massachussetts saves

taxpayers For every

dollar invested in critical services

offered to high risk male youth

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many occasions, witnessing or being involved in a shooting can be the start of a child’s cycle of violence. In places where gun violence has become a daily part of life, some youth decide to obtain firearms for “the power and prestige these weapons” yield. The issue intensifies as young people acquire guns to protect themselves from their armed peers further solidifying the cycle of violence that afflicts these urban communities. There is a certain distinction between the experiences of an urban community

member than one from suburban areas. Unlike mass shootings, urban gun violence has long been accepted as the usual, largely due to its ubiquity. “Chicago has been plagued with gun violence long before the Parkland shooting,” Young Urban Progressives member Juan Reyes said. “Suddenly, people are talking about students not feeling safe in schools. But in reality, students in our city’s south and west side have never felt safe.” The students in the urban communities of D.C. share similar sentiments of

implementing gun violence prevention

1 2

Focus on youth at highest risk for future violence. Pay attention to youth on the cusp of highest risk, even if they are not yet classified as proven risk.

3 4 5

their interminable fear of gun violence. Whether they are in their front yard or on the playground, they fear that they will be next to fall victim to an assailant’s bullet. “In D.C., they’re always bringing up housing and real estate [in the news]. But they never bring up gun violence,” Thurgood Marshall Academy senior Ramsey Williams said. “And now that people are talking about what happened in Florida, we’re thinking, ‘we feel like that all the time.’” Although their struggles may have been mostly overlooked, the March for

Effectively communicate to targeted offenders that they will receive services to help them leave the criminal lifestyle. Train and supervise outreach workers to minimize “backfire” effects, which can unintentionally increase gang activity. Implement programs with adequate staff, resources and expertise.

6 7 8

Our Lives sought to elevate the voices of the urban community to the international stage. At the march, the focus of concern extended beyond the mass shootings of suburban schools like Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to include the pervasive gun violence in urban areas. The inclusiveness of the event unified the plight of all those afflicted by gun violence into one central movement for change. For the powerless and the overlooked, for the neglected and ignored, it was their chance to finally be heard. Story by Richard Doan

Collaborate with multiple city agencies and community members, including business leaders with organizational management expertise. Use data continuously to strategically address population shifts and violence drivers. Conduct long-term studies to calculate returns on investment, accounting for broader and generational contexts. Source: American Institutes for Research

Gun Control • Urban Gun Violence 33

Safety First

Design by Hannah Kapoor

School safety becomes immediate priority among school districts and students

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hen the unimaginable happens, there is an indispensable need to explain what oftentimes has no answer. The violence inflicted upon Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School undoubtedly carries an underlying cause. Despite strong-willed opinions and heated disputes, no one knows exactly what could have prevented that day. The answer is neither simple or definite, but is likely a combination of preventative and protective measures. There is no correct way to start, but one place to look is at the moment when the perpetrator begins, at the site of the attack: schools themselves. On state and national levels, school safety has been a concern for decades, but its entanglements have transformed. In the 1990s, school safety primarily dealed with the discipline and rehabilitation of unruly students. In 1997, the Florida legislature passed a large school safety bill that centrally empowered teachers to discipline students. Through the implementation of school safety hotlines and zero tolerance policies toward crime, drugs and weapon possession, all transgressions, no matter their austerity, were met with the same strict consequences. As the years went on, certain incidents, such as when a child in Maryland was suspended for chewing his pop-tart into the shape of a gun, called into question whether or not strict measures were truly effective in shaping the youth of America — or if they simply instilled fear in them. Such doubts led to yet another trend of thought toward school safety, where strict measures, such as zero tolerance, were now considered counterproductive through their supposed creation of a “pipeline to prison,” which is a metaphor that refers to the early criminalization of youth at the hands of stringent disciplinary rules. In an effort to reduce the criminalization and ostracization of students, especially minority groups that have been proven to be disproportionately arrested, school safety took a more relaxed stance in Broward County. Under the leadership of Superintendent Robert Runcie, organizations such as the “Promise Program” were implemented to steer away from hotline and zero tolerance programs. According to Broward’s Department of Diversity Prevention and Intervention website, the purpose of the Promise Program is to address “the behavior specific to the youth… [and] circumstances that serve as both strengths and challenges for the youth

34 Gun Control • School Safety

resiliency and safeguard the student from entering the judicial system.” Essentially, offenses that were once handled by law enforcement fell into the hands of school administrators, changing the dynamic of school safety once more. Whether or not the offenses of the shooter at MSD were handled in accordance to the Promise Program is still under investigation. Opinions on how to tackle school safety have no doubt renewed themselves over the years, but there is now a grim transition in its meaning as a whole. “School safety” no longer refers to tranquility in the halls, but rather preventative measures to minimize mass shootings. Perhaps these measures are too late in the case of MSD, but they serve as an example for schools around the country amid a cloud of demands for improvements in school infrastructure and protective strategies. Oren Alter, security expert and vice chancellor of security management at over 30 college campuses provides insight into the changing dynamic of school safety. “It is important to note that the term ‘hardening of schools’ means different things to different people. The concept of effectiveness is more important to clarify. Cause and effect are very difficult to evaluate in the safety and security field since success is when nothing happens,” Alter said. “If nothing happens, how do you know what measures, if at all, contributed to the final result?” When tragedies such as that of MSD are scrutinized, only the missteps are acknowledged at both the school level and beyond. Some independent researchers, such as 19 -year old Broward home school student Kenneth Preston, have unraveled a staggering $104,325,821 that was granted towards school safety as part of a 2014 bond appropriation. Only a small fraction of that money, about $5,584,512, has actually been spent. Whether the strategy behind these expenditures is frugality, neglect or corruption, has yet to be explained to the public. “If the school safety money continues to be doled out at the current rate of 1.76 percent spent per year, Broward Public Schools will not see the entirety of that safety money for another 53 years,” Preston said in an investigative report of Broward County published on The Medium. Even if MSD had the chance to implement enhanced safety measures, the specifics formulate a controversy of their own. Certain measures that may appear to be common sense on the surface carry innate limitations.

“From a pragmatic standpoint, it is very challenging to entirely eliminate the risk posed by a determined assailant who is not afraid to die,” Alter said. “School hardening is an important proactive measure; nevertheless, school hardening measures need to address clear objectives and be evaluated in realistic terms while understanding their limitations.” Since the tragedy, MSD has served as a test school for the various security measures being explored by Broward County. These measures include limiting points of entry, IDs, automatic door locks and metal detectors, none of which assure definite safety. “The investment in bullet resistant windows and doors is significant; however, it doesn’t solve open spaces, athletic fields, areas of assembly and more,” Alter said. “Bullet resistant windows significantly limit emergency exits and escape routes. In case of a fire, bullet resistant doors and windows can slow down first responders.” Singular changes in school safety have already been proven ineffective by the multitude of mass shootings in the United States, for no two massacres are ever the same. The practice of lockdown drills since Sandy Hook were ineffective at MSD through the code red system. “School hardening should be looked upon as a component in an entire strategy. The idea is creating multiple layers. Each

layer is better supervised, harder to access and better designed to detect anomalies,” Alter said. “However, you must then start questioning the trade off between school safety, the school culture and the willingness of children, employees and parents to be subjected to such stringent and intrusive security measures.” Students have already expressed clear frustration with their new school environment. A survey of 186 MSD students found that 63 percent expressed strong discontent towards clear backpacks, but 69 percent are in favor of increased security. School safety reform indubitably calls for the reconstruction of the American learning environment, which is now tainted by unwarranted threats. Yet, even if these measures save a single life, their costs are well worth consideration. The products of this heart wrenching, complex tragedy is an infinite number of possibilities a broken community is left to contemplate. Proponents of school safety maintain that had the juvenile offenses of the shooter been properly handled or had the school’s infrastructure been more resilient by whatever means, there may have been one less fallen Eagle. The possibilities are limitless, but the end goal is all the same: to make sure no innocent child is killed, ever again. Story by Hannah Kapoor

Design by Hannah Kapoor

Redirected. Sophomore Amanda Manausa walks through the red gates, MSD’s single point of entry. The red gates are now the only way to enter campus. Photo by Rebecca Schneid Checked Baggage. Assistant principal Jeff Morford checks freshman Mackenzie Alt’s drawstring bag. Following an incident where two knives were brought onto campus, Broward County officials mandated clear backpacks at MSD. “I think it just makes getting onto campus more difficult,” freshman Mackenzie Alt said. Photo by Rebecca Schneid

ID to Enter. Senior Lexi Udine displays her ID to campus security. IDs are now required to be visible in all Broward County middle and high schools as part of the county’s new school safety program. Photo by Rebecca Schneid

Message to MSD Activists

100 percent on what all of you fight for, you all are using your voice and standing for something you believe in and are fighting for what we all want: change. n Feb.14, the unimaginable This should not be about getting a happened to me. I would never have thought that my beautiful quick ride to fame or taking advantage of a tragedy for our own personal gain and sister would be hunted down letting it get to our heads. Seventeen lives in a school that was known to be the were taken from our community, and we safest in Broward County. There have been many emotions stirring in my heart: will not sit here and scream about who is anger, confusion and probably the worst, right and who is wrong. Don’t let people take advantage of you through this time sadness. of sorrow and mourning. I will never get to see my incredibly I’m new to the world of activism, and smart sister graduate and get her I can tell you with 100 percent certainty diploma. I will never get to see my sister marry the man that I, as an overprotective from first-hand experience that there are people out to get you and manipulate brother, would have made sure treated your emotions and ideas. Stay strong and her like who she was: a princess. keep your minds bright. Meadow had a smile that could light But, there is something else that I up a town with no power. She breathed urge you all who are fighting for change life into situations that may have been right now to keep in mind: keeping our perceived as dark. But, I’ve been using schools secure. Few of the things we these emotions that fly like fireworks hope to achieve, as simple as keeping the inside of me to fuel my passion for doors locked, could have prevented the activism and to fight for every school to disgusting monster from killing my sister have increased school safety measures. As an alumnus of Marjory Stoneman and your teachers and classmates. My father recently announced Douglas High School, I’d like to start off his new organization, Americans for writing this as a letter to the current Children’s Lives and School Safety. Within student body. Although I may not agree

There is more to it than just gun control

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this organization, we abide by an eightpoint plan, which can be read in depth on AmericansForClass.org. I’d like to share with you just a basic idea of what we need to see happen. We focus on securing the perimeter of the school campus by installing strategically placed cameras to provide a better eye on possible intruders. We’d also need to protect the interior of the school if an intruder somehow slips through the cracks, where, an armed and highly trained staff member can stop the potential attacker. Another thing that some people need to focus on is increasing mental health services. No sane person would want to maliciously carry out a mass attack. Taking a look at the recent tragedy at the Waffle House, where the shooter claimed Taylor Swift was stalking him, I think it’s safe to say that the people who carry out these violent crimes need serious help. We need to provide the training and resources necessary for schools to provide proper mental health services for their students. One more thing I’d like to share is putting in place a “school safety hotline” of sorts. If you see something,

say something. Don’t ignore a post on Instagram that may come off as a joke about shooting up a school. Trust your gut and tell someone right away. With a hotline that is solely meant for that purpose, I guarantee that with combined safety measures you will not have to fear someone attacking you during school. No student or teacher should ever feel that way. I want you all to realize that this is not about politics. This is about keeping us and future generations safe in the learning environment. You all keep fighting for change, but please be mindful of all opinions. Love you all and keep fighting for the 17. Guest Editorial by Hunter Pollack. Pollack is an MSD Class of 2014 alumnus and a current student at Florida State University. His sister, senior Meadow Pollack, was one of the victims of the tragedy on Feb. 14 at MSD. Pollack and his father have been actively lobbying state and national legislators to advocate for school safety, becoming an integral proponent for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. His family’s mission is to accomplish school safety reform through Meadow’s Movement, a nonprofit organization in Meadow’s honor.

Gun Control • School Safety 35

Design by Lauren Newman

how to get involved 1

2

Choose an interest

5 Get connected

Broaden your horizons by linking up with like-minded people and creating programs that are enjoyable for participants.

Sign up

On the website of your desired organization, find options to volunteer and subscribe to reminders.

4

Use your resources

Mediums of communication such as social media and websites are great ways of spreading your message.

6

3

research

Find information on the goals of various organizations to determine which one suits your interests the best.

Consider what issues have had a significant impact on your life and what you are passionate about.

Organize

Either apply to become a member of an organization you are passionate about or start your own initiative.

7

8

Get political

Lobbying, litigating and organizing public demonstrations are some of the most effective methods for drawing attention to an issue.

The most important step for becoming an activist is commitment and continuing the momentum to enact change.

Local organizations Dream Defenders

Among the many causes advocated for by Dream Defenders such as income equality, the fight to end police brutality, patriarchy and war has taken center stage. The organization participates in marches, creates art and history demonstrations and develops projects such as “Young SquaDD,” in which members support students through leadership development. Interested citizens of age 18 and up can apply to become one of 26 “freedom fellows” at dreamdefenders.org to help lead the movement.

friends of the everglades

Founded in 1969 by environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Friends of the Everglades works to protect the Everglades by spreading awareness of the nature preservation’s importance and encouraging lawmakers to maintain existing environmental regulations. The Friends’ legal actions have prevented a wide variety of destructive mandates from being enacted. To join the email alert network, students can email friends@everglades.org or visit everglades.org.

florida immigrant coalition

The Florida Immigrant Coalition works to maintain and establish the rights of immigrants in the state of Florida. The organization is an outlet for becoming a U.S. citizen with assistance on citizenship applications available, as well as proving multiple campaigns and programs to help immigrants adapt to life in the U.S. The coalition invites people to join them by becoming a member, donating or volunteering under their “Get Involved” tab at floridaimmigrant.org.

Persist

Local organizations offer activist opportunities Miami-Dade Women’s fund For 23 years, the Miami-Dade Women’s Fund has worked to protect and assist women by providing shelter for abused wives, funding startup businesses and supplying after school care for children, among other programs and activist efforts. Interested participants can register for an event, such as the “Power of the Purse” event, which was held on April 27, by clicking the “Get Involved” tab at womensfundmiami.org.

engage miami

This organization, led by adolescents in the Miami-Dade area, is committed to getting youth involved in democracy and the political process by encouraging them to vote and providing critical details about commission meetings and local government. Teenagers interested in the government and politics are encouraged to get involved by signing up to volunteer at one of their events on their website, engage.miami.

save

SAVE has been recognized as the leading organization dedicated to protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community across South Florida. Through political advocacy, community outreach and candidate endorsements, SAVE fights for a vision of equality. On their official website, save.lgbt, interested students can sign up to volunteer or apply to join The Guardians’ Society or SAVE’s Sentinels.

Activism • How To Get Involved 36