At state capitol, students protest gun violence
ALBANY, N.Y. » Capital District students participated in a National StudentWalkout Friday morning at West Capitol Park in Albany on the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting.
The walkout and rally was in demand for comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation and to encourage young voters to show their support.
April 20, 2018, marked the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colo., where 12 students and a teacher were killed by students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Since then, more than 200,000 students in the U.S. have experienced gun violence while at school, with one of themost recent instances being the Parkland, Fla., shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Several high schools from the Capital Region attended the event, including Albany, Bethlehem, Columbia, Guilderland, Shenendehowa and Emma Willard. CapitalDistrict students were also joined in the rally by twoMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, Adam Alhanti and Alfonso Calderon.
Albany High School students Rylyn Swierzewski and Emma Andrews said they attended the walkout because they support the demand for a change in gun laws and encourage others to do the same.
“Students shouldn’t have to be worried about a shooter coming in while they are in school,” Andrews said.
“And, teachers shouldn’t
have to worry about protecting their students,” Swierzewski added.
The event began with a lie-in, inwhich the students were asked to lie down on the concrete for 13 minutes in remembrance of the 13 victims of the Columbine shooting. Students simulated dead bodies by laying down on their back with their eyes closed, while Lydia Martell, a Bethlehem High School senior, read the names and ages of the Columbine victims.
“Today we are not just Albany or Bethlehem or Columbia,” said Martell. “We are not just individual schools and people. Today we are one people, one presence, and one unified student body.”
Several students from Bethlehem and Albany High School made speeches, along with Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Assemblywoman Pat Fahy. Fahy encouraged students to register and to vote in November for gun reform laws.
“We can’t change this in a day,” Fahy said. “You have to keep showing up, standing up, and speaking up.”
There were several tables available for voter registration, T- shirt making, sign making, and letter writing to elected officials. Students held up their signs while chanting.
Several signs held by students included, “I shouldn’t have to pick between my education andmy life,” “Books Not Bullets,” “I Never Thought ‘Surviving’ High School Would Be So Hard,” and “How Many More?”
Sheehan thanked the students for being so motivated and asked them to be further motivated by what’s happening in their own neighborhoods.
“Thank you for making your voices heard,” said Capital District students lie on the concrete in West Capitol Park in Albany on Friday for 13minutes in remembrance of the Columbine shooting victims. Sheehan. “Keep fighting, hold us accountable, and we will make a difference.”