Students should vote to make schools safer
I was in preschool when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 of their classmates. At 5 years old, I never could have known that the massacre at Columbine High School would be the modern catalyst of an unending series of deadly shootings that would come to characterize my school years.
In all, from the year of my first picture day to the completion of my bachelor’s degree, 232 people died at the hands of school shooters — and 54 have been killed since. Sadly, like hundreds of thousands of young Americans, one of the schools I attended — the University of Texas — experienced a student suicide by firearm.
Now, at age 24, I spend my time on the campaign trail instead of in the classroom. And when I talk to my friends about why they should vote in the fall, common sense gun reform has become my go-to reason. For millennials and Gen. Zers this has never been simply a policy debate — it’s a tragic fact of our upbringing and a matter life and death.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. Most of the deadly shootings in my lifetime were headlines. Places I had never heard of, and people I’d never met — unbelievably tragic, but also abstract. That’s started to change. I was only about 20 miles away from the massacre at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in November, and even closer to Santa Fe High School last week. These shootings have been particularly jarring in part not only because of their proximity but also because of my job. During both of the tragedies I was working for political candidates in districts that bordered the events. I know acutely well that, with some exception, many of the legislators who represent those communities have routinely done little to make their constituents safe from gun violence. Luckily, on Nov. 6 we will have an opportunity to fix that.
Over the course of this election cycle I have realized something urgent: We don’t have to accept inaction any longer. There are a record number of pro-gun control candidates on ballots all over the country, and for many young people this midterm will be the first chance they have to vote for one.
My suggestion: Look for candidates who believe in universal background checks. Vote for people who are committed to giving the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the funding necessary to address the mental health crisis that perpetuates gun violence. Find those who advocate for responsible gun ownership and stricter liabilities for parental negligence that results in violence — something that might have prevented the attack at Santa Fe. And perhaps most important, select representatives who will make it more difficult for people to acquire high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic weapons such as the ones that were used at Sandy Hook and Parkland. There are people running for office who are committed to saving our lives, our brothers’ and sisters’ lives, and the lives of our future children. We must buck the trend of low-youthmidterm turnout, do our research and vote for them.
As a generation, we have experienced collective trauma brought about by forces that we once could not control, but together we can do our part to begin to make it right. Perhaps our current political structures have failed to act because most legislators don’t know what it’s like to plan an escape route from their math classes or know the fear of having an active shooter in their hallways. Too many of us have experienced those feelings and we ought to commit ourselves to ensuring that the next wave of American school children never will.
On Nov. 6 we have the chance to make a difference, but 286 of our former classmates and educators do not. The least we can do is vote.
Dimitroff is a native Houstonian and currently serves as finance director for Rita Lucido, a candidate for Texas Senate.