Students organize walkout, debate and town hall on gun control

Prior to the March for Our Lives protests, the Harker community held a walkout and vigil on March 14 to commemorate and honor the lives lost in the massacre, an event hosted by various student organizations and clubs on campus. Students also had the opportunity to sign a banner for MSD, write letters to local congressmen and district representatives or purchase snacks to support the MSD community.

“I hope that [the vigil, the banner and the video] lead to a sense of love among our community. I hope it fosters a feeling of grief,” sophomore class council president Avi Gulati (10) said. “To the MSD community, I hope that they see what we’ve done and know that they’re supported. I mean, they obviously already, with so much of the efforts around the country, know that they’re supported, but so many other people doing something about it is not to say that we shouldn’t.”

Student council, Harker journalism and the speech and debate program collectively organized a session hosted by History teacher Carol Green on informed voting, a pre-registration opportunity for 16 and 17 year old students and a bipartisan debate and town hall on gun control.

“Get registered to vote, first off. Make sure you’re registered. Then, obviously, get out there and vote. Make sure you become a politically active individual by sending letters to your congressman, calling them every single day until literally any legislation has passed, and holding your elected officials accountable,” gun control activist and MSD senior David Hogg said in an interview with the Winged Post last month. “Congressmen love listening to children. Actually they don’t, they don’t care, but when they get a s***load of letters from future voters, that scares the crap out of them. So, letting them know that you’re coming for them, that’s what you need to do.”

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 30, 2018.