Students Plan Walkout to Highlight Gun Violence
Students will gather at the steps of Penn Hall to commemorate lives lost due to gun violence and hear from student speakers on the issue (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College)
By Gauri Mangala, Assistant News Editor
On Friday, April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, Gettysburg College will be holding the “Gettysburg Against Gun Violence” walkout, in partnership with Peace and Justice Week.
At 10:00 a.m. members of the Gettysburg College community are asked to meet in front of Penn Hall and to wear black. Student speakers from a diverse array of backgrounds will be speaking about the effects of gun violence in their communities, through speeches, poems, and spoken word.
The faculty and administration were made aware of the walkout at the last faculty meeting; many plan on attending the event with students. To those who would argue that the walkout would disrupt class time, Amanda Richman ‘18, an organizer of the walkout, argued, “Gun violence is disruptive. If we do this, maybe we could prevent something more disruptive.”
Richman hopes that the intersectional approach that the walkout is taking, rather than spotlighting school shootings specifically, will force people to consider the implications of gun violence that may often be overlooked.
A Facebook event for the walkout said, “Although this demonstration will take place on the anniversary of the Columbine High School mass shooting, we recognize all forms of gun violence in the United States, including but not limited to mass shootings, school shootings, police shootings, intimate partner violence, and suicides. It is especially significant that many of these instances disproportionately affect marginalized communities.”
Many high schools and colleges other will also be participating in walkouts on Friday, including Gettysburg Area High School. GAHS plans on holding its event in Lincoln Square from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.; many Gettysburg students plan on joining the high school at the end of the duration of the College’s events.
