The Introspective

Exploring the Impact of Recent Tragedies on Student Activism and Potential Solutions.

Dante Belcher

Sep 9, 2024

Content Warning: This article discusses sensitive topics, including school shootings and related violence. It contains descriptions and details that may be distressing to some readers. Please proceed with caution and take care of your emotional well-being.

The past week in the U.S. was shaken by gun violence, from a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia to a shooting in a Maryland high school bathroom that killed a 15-year-old. American society is once again being forced to face reality and acknowledge the gun violence that exists in schools.

The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, east of Atlanta, was the deadliest school shooting in the state’s history. Two teachers and two students were killed, leaving nine people injured. Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspect, was taken into custody and charged with four counts of felony murder. His father, Colin Gray, was also charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for buying the gun used in the shooting.

Addressing gun violence and shootings require more than just a response to individual incidents, then merely back to the status quo until the next one happens. It demands a comprehensive approach to prevent future tragedies and to protect the learning environment. Important to this effort is the role of student activism, which has emerged in the last decade as a vital force in advocating for change and influencing policy.

The State of School Shootings:

There were more than 139 incidents of gunfire in schools across the country in 2024, which killed 42 people and injured 91. In February, two students at the University of Colorado were killed by another student in a roommate dispute. In August, Andrea Rodriguez Avila, an alum of my high school, was found dead in her Rice University dorm room as a part of a domestic-abuse related murder-suicide.

This escalation in violence is part of a larger pattern. Since 1999, more than 440 people have been killed in K-12 school shootings. The Department of Homeland Security reported a record high in 2023 with 348 school shootings resulting in over 249 fatalities.

The alarming statistics and recent incidents highlight a troubling reality: gun violence in schools is more than just numbers—it’s a societal crisis that profoundly affects those directly involved. While the data paints a stark picture of the frequency and severity of these incidents, the true impact is felt in the hallways and classrooms where students and staff members face the aftermath.

Research from Stanford University has shown that mental health takes the biggest toll following an event such as a school shooting, with documented increases in suicides among survivors of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Studies also showed that drops in student enrollment and test scores are common educational outcomes following school shootings.

A study between 1998 and 2006 showed that students who were exposed to gun violence at schools were 3.7% less likely to enroll in college, 17.2% were less likely to enroll in a four-year university, and 15.3% were less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by age 26. Results also have shown that students that were exposed to shootings between grades 9 through 11 were 6.3% less likely to be employed and had 13.5% lower earnings between the ages of 24 and 26. This amounts to over $5.8 billion lost in lifetime earnings among survivors, combined with the fact that an estimated 50,000 children per year experience gun violence at school.

The mental and educational effects of school shootings underscore the need for action and reform. The effects on mental health, academic and future opportunities showcase the deep societal effects that gun violence perpetuates. In the past decade, students themselves have emerged as powerful advocates for change.

Student Activism: A Growing Movement

Student activism has historically played an important role in driving social change. Today, amid the constant threat of school shootings and the effects on their communities, student-led movements are once again gaining traction. An example is March for Our Lives (MFOL), founded by survivors of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The movement quickly grew into a nationwide movement. According to Vox, the 2018 March for Our Lives protest had 1.2 million people protesting for gun control. Being one of the largest youth-led protest since the Vietnam War.

March for Our Lives held a second protest in 2022 following mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, in a hate crime, and the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The two shootings occurred just ten days apart, with 10 people in Buffalo killed in the shooting and Uvalde, with 19 children and two adults killed.

In a statement released by the BBC, David Hogg, one of the survivors of the Parkland shooting said that the killings of children in Uvalde “should fill us with rage and demands for change, not endless debate, but demands for change, now.”

In the two years since, MFOL has called for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for those seeking to purchase a gun, and a national licensing system, which would create a gun registry.

According to studies by the Pew Research Center, four in ten U.S. adults say they live in a household with a gun, while 32% say they personally own one. The studies also have shown that 38% of White people own a gun, compared to 24% of Black people, 20% of Latinos and 10% of Asian-Americans.

The study, conducted in June 2023 found that 61% of Americans say it’s too easy to legally obtain a gun in the country. Follow up results from May showed half of Americans see gun violence as a major problem, down from 60% from June.

Pushback Against Student Protestors

While student activists have made significant strides in raising awareness and pushing for stricter gun laws, they have faced significant opposition from groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and advocates for gun owners.

In a piece in The Federalist, senior editor David Harsanyi criticized the Parkland survivors as “angry” and considered gun rights to be “self-defense.”

“Mass protests aren’t only often antithetical to the aesthetics of republicanism, but sometimes they undermine its purpose, as well. In our system, inalienable rights — including the one to self-defense — can’t be swept away by angry crowds,” wrote Harsanyi.

Shortly before the 2018 protests, the NRA released a clip titled “A March for their Lies” where host Colion Noir dismissed the experiences of the Parkland students and said that if their friends hadn’t died “no one would know your names.”

“To all the kids from Parkland getting ready to use your First Amendment to attack everyone else’s Second Amendment at your march on Saturday, I wish a hero like Blaine had been at Marjory Douglas High School last month,” Noir said. Referring to Blaine Gaskill, a school resource officer who played a role in stopping a school shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland.

Despite facing significant opposition, the effort to end gun violence continues. To combat the rising statistics of gun violence in schools, considerations for potential solutions and the role that communities and legislators play is vital.

Potential Solutions and Policy Proposals

Since the rise gun violence across the country, many key proposals have emerged. A ban has been called by advocates on assault weapons, arguing that restricting access to high-capacity firearms can prevent mass shootings and reduce the severity of such incidents.

Research from Johns Hopkins University shows that laws prohibiting the possession or purchase of handguns by people under the age of 21 are supported by two-thirds or Americans and more than half of gun owners and Republicans. Permissive gun laws are less popular, with only 25% of Americans and a third of gun owners supporting gun-carrying at K-12 schools.

“We have evidence-based solutions that exist right now that are supported by the majority of Americans from a range of backgrounds and experiences,” said Cassandra Crifasi, the Director of Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions in an interview.

Universal Background Checks were another popular policy in tandem with a National Licensing system. Both systems would ensure that all gun purchases undergo background checks and create a national registry of gun owners, which would track gun ownership and ensure only those qualified can purchase a gun.

The Role of Communities and Legislators

Community action and legislators play vital roles in driving systemic change and creating safer environments. Following the passing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) in 2022, there were renewed efforts to make schools safer with investments in school-based mental health services. However, studies have shown that community involvement is more important than ever regarding addressing school gun violence.

Key tools in early intervention and violence prevention techniques are Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), two frameworks that help educators and schools provide academic and behavioral strategies for students with various needs.

Research has shown that restorative discipline practices such as mediation conferences and conflict resolution circles are more effective than law enforcement in schools. Methods such as zero-tolerance policies, and out-of-school suspensions have been shown to exacerbate existing behavioral and mental health problems. Studies have also shown that the presence of law enforcement, such as school resource officers (SROs), escalates responses to threats and criminalizes lower-level offenses, which contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline and makes students, including those who are LGBTQ, low-income, and especially students of color, unsafe.

Legislators are also important in addressing gun violence. Following mass shootings, various states such as Nevada have banned bump stocks, which was used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and allows for a quick rapid fire of ammunition. Following the 2022 Buffalo Shooting, which killed 10 Black people in a targeted hate crime, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a ten-bill package of laws to address gun violence in the state. The legislation included limiting the purchase of body armor to only specific professions and the restrictions of semiautomatic rifles to people over 21.

Legislators are important to shaping policies that support both systemic change and preventative measures. As communities and legislators work together, the impact of their combined efforts can lead to more comprehensive and lasting solutions.