America seems to be stuck in a cycle. Colombine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and most recently Las Vegas, Marshall County and Parkland are all among an ever-increasing long list of mass shootings in American History.
The repetition of these events is a uniquely American problem. A recent CNN article cited a 2016 University of Alabama study saying that from 1966 to 2012, despite only accounting for 5 percent of the world’s population, America accounted for 31 percent of mass shootings in that time span.
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, though, seems to have marked a turning point in the campaign for better gun control.
Parkland students like Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky and their classmates have brought about the “March for our Lives” and “#NeverAgain” movements, which have gotten major traction across the nation and world.
Over 800 marches are planned worldwide for tomorrow, including a planned march put on by the Young Democratic Socialists Club at 12:30 p.m. beginning by the Angell College Center.
This movement is a refreshing change of pace in an American populace that has grown largely apathetic towards the thought that we can affect actual change.
The high school students at the heart of this movement prove that not everyone is content with living with the status quo, and that the spirit of protest is still very much alive in the younger generations of America.
