TYLER MONROE: I am afraid to go to school every day because I am unsure if I will get out. Because conversations involving my education have introduced guns into the conversation much too often. Because when senior students paid for their caps and gowns this past Thursday, I was thinking about how many kids wouldn’t be alive to receive their diplomas.
I am afraid to go to school every day because I over-analyze the good-byes I say to my mother every morning. And as I walk up to the big brick building, I think over the lines I said in my mind, wondering if they were worthy of the last words she ever heard me speak. Weapons do not belong in a building where the sharpest things should be students’ minds.
I am afraid to go to school every day because of the plans my classmates and I have made. We hope to go into the military, or maybe we already sent our deposits into our colleges, and I wonder how many names on those attendance lists will not be called because those kids did not survive to see this year’s autumn.
And I should NOT be afraid to go to school every day because I do not know if I will survive. Students should not walk the halls worrying about the nearest exit in case the PA system announces there is an armed person in the building. Weapons do not belong in a building where the sharpest things should be students’ minds.
I should not be afraid to go to school every day because fear should not meddle with learning. The only worry that should ever exist in such an academic environment is anxiety over an upcoming test. The information we learn should not be skewed in our minds because we are too worried about the fate of our lives.
And I should not be afraid to go to school every day because the path to graduation is so uncertain. Schools across the nation are wondering, which one will be next. And school is no place for the fear that my fellow students and I will not live to hear the dismissal bell ring.
Thank you. (Applause)
KATELYN BOTSFORD TUCKER: Good afternoon. My name is Katelyn Botsford Tucker and I am a social studies teacher and a mom. I am so glad to be speaking to you today, but I am saddened by the reason for this march and the marches taking place across the country. Thirty-two lives at Virginia Tech; one was a friend of mine. Twenty-six lives at Newtown. Seventeen lives at Stoneman Douglas. The Department of Defense reports that the number of children killed by gunfire in the U.S. since 2012 surpasses the total number of American soldiers killed overseas in combat since 9/11. Last week, 7,000 pairs of shoes were placed on the U.S. Capitol lawn to represent those lives.
Today, students across the country are making it clear that they won’t stand for inaction. They are making it clear that they want common sense gun legislation to make sure these tragedies stop. But it isn’t easy. Students like Julia and Tyler know this. All the students here need to know it too. It’s never easy. It’s never easy to speak out when you see something wrong in the world, but you have to, because democracy is not a spectator sport. Movements are made up of moments, and you should know that this moment is important in this movement. Did you ever think you would be part of a movement? Because you are.
You’ve organized, you’ve brought us all here, and you’ve made your voices heard. In my profession, we tell kids to believe in themselves. We tell kids to stand up for their beliefs. We tell kids to care about their community and the people in it. I’m standing here in awe of how well these students have listened. You started as a few, and you’ve grown into many, and I know this is only the beginning of what you can do. You’re proving that you’re up for the challenge. Because even when just two or three gather in the name of justice, there is hope. You are the hope for the future. Your voices will be heard, and you will make a difference.
COLBY TREMBLEY: Hello, my name is Colby Trembley, and I’m a junior from St. Joseph High School in Trumbull.
Let’s arm our teachers with resources, not weapons. Let’s give them the tools they need to teach, not the tools to kill. It is a teacher’s job to educate, not to fight for their lives and the lives of their students.
So I ask all of you today, do not let this be the end of the conversation. We can be the generation that ends gun violence; we can be the generation that ends school shootings. This is our history. Thank you.
