The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Walk-in’ honors shooting victims
Students organize event to promote unity
TORRINGTON — Torrington High School gathered Wednesday to promote unity and communication in the face of tragedy, as students and faculty commemorated the lives of the 17 people who were killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., with a “walk-in.”
Gianna Del Monte, Megan Barrios and Samuel Erickson helped organize the event, providing a chance for the school community to come together and reach out to the people of Parkland.
“It’s important to speak out and say this isn’t acceptable, but at the same time we wanted to stress that this was to send good vibes to the people of Parkland,” said Erickson, a sophomore.
“We wanted to (create) a sense of unity, and we wanted to have our class think — we wanted to start a conversation with this, and the conversation
can be anything that the students want it to be,” said Del Monte, a senior.
The event was planned by the students, and the administrators were supportive of their efforts, they said.
The gathering began with remarks from THS Principal Andrew Skarzynski, who said he was proud it was student-led and asked those in attendance to consider bridging gaps with others.
“Who are the 17 people that you can talk to and reach out that you might not normally reach out to? What are the 17 nice things that you can do on a daily basis? Who are the 17 people that you can connect with?” Skarzynski said. “If you take that aspect alone from today, we will be a better place, and we will address some of the challenges that we have here.”
The school chamber choir and Erickson performed for the gathering.
Teacher Janet Giampaolo, who lost family in the Las Vegas shooting in October and had others threatened during the 2012 shooting in Sandy Hook, shared her story and asked Torrington High School students to stay vigilant and communicative in the face of potential violence.
“We rise up to help people in and out of our community in good times and in bad — fire, flood, natural disaster. Our kids are really committed to helping others,” Giampaolo said. “THS students care. We’ve had threats in the past, but our students aren’t afraid to speak up. Every time, someone has come forward and tells someone, so we can be prepared and we can be safe as a school.”
“Please don’t ever stop being a community THS — a community that cares will speak up,” Giampaolo added. “If you hear something, please say something.”
Students read a poem, asking those in attendance to be mindful and care for others, which ended with the couplet “the world can be dark, so be the light / there is always sunrise after midnight.”
The event concluded with a long moment of silence after assistant principal Robin Ledversis read the names of the 17 individuals who died at Stoneman Douglas High School.
Students and faculty stood alongside those speaking and performing throughout, holding balloons inscribed with the names of the victims.
The event joined protests and commemorative events held across the country Wednesday, including in Middletown and New Haven, to speak out against gun violence and honor the memory of the victims of the Feb. 14 shooting.
Erickson and Barrios hoped people took away a sense of community from the day’s events.
“Just think respect, and that it’s not okay,” said Erickson. “That we all need to come together as one to stop this (unsensible) gun violence.”
“We have to communicate with one another too,” said Barrios, a senior. “Nowadays, obviously, phones, we have those — it’s just so nice to have that connection face-to-face with someone. When we get up and do this with people, it’s like we’re not all individuals — we’re individuals that come together as one.”