With just three weeks to go to until the 50 Miles More Massachusetts march from Worcester to Springfield, we are posting another blog written by the student organizers. The march will be held August 22nd through August 26th, with a rally outside of Smith and Wesson at the end.
The entry below was written by Chinaly, a 17 year-old student leader at Sabis International Charter School.
“The past six months have been substantial in molding me into who I am today.
In February of 2018, I opened Twitter and saw the impact of loose gun laws and disregarded red flags. I saw hundreds of students my age fearing for their lives, and bullets ripping through some of their chests as they huddled in classro
oms trying to go undetected on the shooter’s radar. It rattled me to my core that this was the gruesome reality I had to live in, kids dying in a place they were supposed to grow.
But what impacted me the most was the chilling fear I felt when my school experienced its own shooting threat. Twenty students scrambling out of their desks on to the floor, hearts thumping, palms sweating, hands shaking. For the first time ever, I was afraid for my life. I was torn rather to text my brother or not because if his ringer was on and if there was a shooter then they would hear his phone buzz and target him. But if I didn’t I had no idea if he safely made it into a classroom when Code Red started blaring over the intercoms. I had no clue of knowing if he was okay, or if I would ever see him again. But the only thing that kept replaying through my mind wasn’t what drills to run during soccer practice that day or the test I had next period. It was “did I tell my mom I loved her this morning?”
I have never felt that kind of fear in me my whole life and even now as I rethink about the experience my heart starts racing and my eyes start watering because I was scared and I still am scared. I am still scared because there is still so much more to be done to ensure that mass shooting like Parkland don’t happen again, and that’s why I march.
I march for better legislation. I march so no other child has to experience the same fear I did. I march so no parent has to receive a text saying “if I die today at school, know that I love you”.
I march because the time for change is now. Gun control is a topic we can no longer ignore and this generation is pushing this topic to the front burner, emphasizing that this is not a moment, it’s a movement. It’s time for us to march, defy the stigma against teenagers, and create the change we want to see.”
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Students wishing to join the movement, can sign up to walk here: https://50milesmore.org/march-ma/
Adults may volunteer here: http://bit.ly/50mmmVolunteer
Sponsor a walker by donating here.
Join us at the rally on August 26th in front of Smith and Wesson: Facebook event page