Students are organizing a walkout against gun violence on campus.
The walkout will feature music, readings and discussions from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 20 in various locations across campus.
April 20 was declared the National School Walkout day because it is the 19th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Students across America will protest the gun violence that has occurred in many schools in the 21st century and the lack of proper change.
Zoe Dongas, music theater freshman, and other students in Peace and Nonviolence, a class taught by Dr. John Starkey, professor of theology, organized the OCU event.
“In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas massacre, I, as well as many other students, felt upset and helpless,” Dongas said. “It was especially frustrating to me that the general reaction to the shooting was very short-lived anger and, even worse, indifference, as if school shootings have become normal, expected events.”
Starkey was immediately supportive and helped brainstorm ideas and brought the idea to the class, Dongas said.
The day will begin with a moment of silence followed by a reading of the schools affected by shootings. Students will then play music on the quad before moving into the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center for a question and answer session with Oklahoma State Representative Cyndi Munson.
Everyone from the campus community is invited to walk laps for Columbine victims and then attend a performance of Natural Shocks, an hourlong play about a woman sharing stories and experiences related to gun violence while waiting in her basement for a tornado. Lauren Gunderson, the playwright, is allowing schools and theaters to produce the show for free the weekend of the walkout.
Tables with voter registration, statistics, and “Why are you walking out?” hearts will be in the student lounge during lunch, and the walkout will end with a memorial service in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel.
Dongas said the event is important because school shootings are not specific to age or location and could easily happen at OCU or another school where our families and friends are.
“This whole movement was organized by high schoolers. High schoolers,” she said. “OCU has to stand in solidarity with our fellow students to make a statement to our lawmakers that gun violence, especially in places of education, must end. Enough is enough.”
Sarah Schulz, music theater freshman, said she is excited to participate in a national protest of weapons in schools.
“This is an issue that needs to be solved, and it’s really cool that our school, in the middle of Oklahoma, is working to solve this issue,” Shulz said. “I am glad to be part of a school where the students fight for what we believe in and take initiative to make it happen.”
OCU officials will also host Stars 101, a day of introducing prospective students to the structure and programs of OCU, on April 20. Dongas said she does not think the events will affect each other negatively.
“If anything, the walkout will show our prospective students that our campus is made of active and dedicated students,” she said. “We hope that our visitors will be able to observe and maybe even participate in our events.”
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