When Will It Stop?

Emily Vinson

After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, many students have become nervous about the current safety measures Franklin High is taking. Most recently, there was another school shooting at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland on March 20, where two students died, including the gunman. This shooting comes six days after students from this school took part in the National School Walkout, voicing to put an end to gun violence.

By the numbers, school shootings are multiplying in size in the past ten years. Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, there have been 239 school shootings, with 138 deaths.

While schools such as Franklin High practice lockdown drills in the case of someone dangerous getting into the building, some people say that these drills are not enough. Recently, there has been buzz about some people wanting to arm teachers with guns. Many are opposed to this, as they don’t think the solution to less gun deaths is more guns. Regardless, the recent massacres in Parkland and Great Mills has brought up great debate about gun control in our country as well as safety in our school systems.

If you want to help, there are many ways. Besides the National School Walkout that many students at Franklin High took part in, there is another protest called March For Our Lives which will take place on Saturday, March 24 in Boston and other cities across the country. People will be pressing for stricter gun laws from Congress. To learn more, visit the March For Our Lives: Boston website.

Even though we are one school, students still have the ability to make a difference in these current issues. If you see something you think is suspicious, tell someone. As a country, we must do all we can to prevent this from happening again.