Students at Columbia High School in East Greenbush, New York organized an assembly this morning as part of a day of national school walkouts. Several local officials were on hand to speak with students about school safety.
Students across the country Wednesday paid tribute to the victims of February’s shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida.
At Columbia High School in East Greenbush, where 14 years ago a student fired a gun into a hallway, striking a teacher in the leg, students organized an event called “We Rise.”
Wearing an orange t-shirt to mark the event, 17-year-old senior and student council president Lily Hutton said the event is a chance for students to have a voice in the national discussion on school safety.
“We have the ability to use our voice and I will be voting in 2018 and I really think that this has been enough. It was enough 10 years ago. It was enough at Columbine. And it’s finally, like, we’re standing up to say it’s enough, we’re rising for change,” said Hutton.
The assembly continued while the buzzer rang between class periods.
While some schools said students protesting would face disciplinary actions, East Greenbush Central School District superintendent Jeff Simons said students were welcome to attend the assembly, but wouldn’t be punished for walking out.
“We definitely would prefer that students to voice their concerns regarding school safety. This is important to the district in terms of promoting student civic responsibility,” said Simons.
Following a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting one month ago, the assembly featured several local officials on both sides of the political aisle.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said there was no place she would rather be than with the students in East Greenbush.
“Stand up right now and say ‘we rise, and we rise together.’ Stand up. Stand up for the students. Stand up for the victims. Stand up to end the bloodshed. And you are part of a movement that is changing history. Yes you are. You can change history.”
Hochul recalled the 7,000 pairs of shoes placed upon the Capitol lawn in Washington this week to mark the number of children killed by guns since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.
She asked the students in East Greenbush to keep those who lost their lives in mind when they head to vote.
“You vote in their absence and you never miss an election the rest of your life. And you vote for people who understand that the lives of our children are more important than the NRA,” said Hochul.
Also among the speakers was area Republican State Senator Kathy Marchione.
Marchione reassured students who may feel threatened of steps the school has taken to ensure student safety. She also touted legislation recently approved by the Senate to address school safety, like bills to fund armed school resource officers and make security upgrades.
She did not single out guns as a cause of violence.
“I think there’s so many more causes. We’ve always had guns. We have mental health issues that are not being dealt with,” said Marchione.
Democrats in the State Assembly have passed their own package of reforms, including expanding background checks from three to 10 days and a “red flag” provision that would allow judges to block certain individuals deemed at risk of harming themselves or others from obtaining a weapon.
Like what he told the students at the podium, area state Assembly Democrat John McDonald said the issues at hand will require dialogue.
“You know, this is going to lead executive leadership in this process and it’s going to need everybody to come together to look at what makes sense,” said McDonald.
New York lawmakers passed the gun control measures known as the SAFE Act five years ago after Sandy Hook, which continues to divide liberals and conservatives to this day.
Students were able to ask questions of the speakers, including their local police chief, and also write letters to those affected by the Parkland shooting.
The day of walkouts comes at a time of daily threats, many unfounded, to schools around the region, causing lockdowns and increased security.
