The concern around gun violence, especially in schools, is growing rapidly among students and teachers. Recent events have only intensified feelings of fear and insecurity in educational communities.
In only the past ten months, there have been 86 injuries and 31 deaths because of school shootings in America.
As recently as this month, on Sept. 10 a school shooting was reported where a gunman opened fire at Evergreen Colorado High school after two students attempted to confront the gunman to prevent a larger tragedy.
The students were shot several times and hospitalized, suffering severe injuries.
These types of incidents are sadly not new in America. Students and families continue to face grief and trauma, and many feel frustrated that little progress has been made to improve school safety. Students are raising their voices louder than ever to highlight the disturbing connection between school attendance and the risk of gun violence.
“I think that they are definitely way too high, and I think that the fact people in like preschool have to go through active shooter drills is ridiculous,” Senior Savannah Washam said.
The emotional toll of these incidents is more serious than many realize. At large schools like North Central, students are often left wondering whether they could be next.
“North Central is such a huge school, like we’re very known, it definitely is a concern sometimes,” Sophomore Aniye Ward said.
While school shootings are particularly horrifying, they’re just one part of a much larger issue. So far in 2025, there have been 342 mass shootings in the U.S., defined as incidents where four or more people were injured or killed.
“It just makes me more self-aware that these things happen. It just makes me a little bit more cautious with what I do,” Ward said.
The want for change is boiling after recent events regarding school and public shootings, and especially as students are growing older, they are demanding actions.
“It just makes me think more about politics because I just turned 18 so I can vote soon but they make me think like there are so many things that we could be doing to prevent this violence but we just don’t,” Washam said.
And it’s not just students. Teachers are also deeply concerned about the rise in gun violence and the impact it’s having on schools.
“I think school can definitely be safer all around, not just North Central but just in general across America,” weights teacher Connor Andras said.
It is the sad reality that even teachers are seeing the effects of gun violence during just a normal school day.
“I think it makes some kids more anxious to go to school and while they’re here,” Andras said.
Beyond school campuses, the fear of gun violence now affects where people go, how they socialize, and how safe they feel in large crowds.
“I think it makes everybody a bit more anxious and scared to go to certain places with big crowds or places they don’t know. So it just makes you not want to really do anything,” Andras said.
Fear is instilled in adults and children just to go to school and outside around a larger number of people. The demand for change has never been higher, and it is crucial to students and teachers that actions are taken to better ensure safety.
“It just makes me really upset and it kind of breaks my heart because like the kids and the students shouldn’t have had to worry about whether or not they’re going to come home alive,” Ward said.
This issue has been going on far too long, and the children of today deserve better. The violence that has been happening in our Nation is impacting learners like nothing else, and creating a vast number of issues for students mentally and physically.
The younger community needs to see a difference, an effort, and an ability to make a change. The students demand the wait on their safety to stop now, and will use their voice until it’s finally heard.
