S O U T H
M E T R O
VOLUME 36 • NUMBER 18 • MARCH 22, 2018
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“Enough is enough” Speakers of the protest Hannah Presken and Amalia Camlet (holding papers). Photo by Becky Osterwald
Bruins join in the nationwide protest against gun violence BY BECKY OSTERWALD MANAGING EDITOR
It was a crowded quad at the Cherry Creek High School March 14 when students joined a nationwide walkout of class protesting gun violence and demanding politicians finally do something. The movement began after the school shooting ta Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Fla.
a month before, when 17 students and faculty were gunned down by a former student using an AR-15 rifle. The CCHS protest was organized by students through the use of social media. The school staff was not part of the protest, but stood by to protect the students and ensure the safety of those observing the event. Greenwood Village Police was also on hand to close Union Avenue in the event the students decided to take the protest to the street. Instead, the teenagers remained in the high school quad. The 17-minute protest (one minute for each of the murdered victims
in Parkland) consisted of handmade signs and speeches by the organizers. During the speech, read by Hannah Presken and Amalia Camlet, said that students and staff have the right to learn and teach in an “environment from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way
allow one more child to be shot at school.” Camlet said, “We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students.” School safety is not a political issue. “There cannot be two sides to doing everything in our
Students live in fear of coming to school. We can be the change. – Hannah Presken
home from school. “No special interest group, no political agenda is more critical than the timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country,” Presken stated. Adding, “We cannot
power to ensure our power is to ensure the lives and future of children who are at risk of dying when they should be learning, playing and growing,” she added. Continued on page 2