Enough is Enough: HB Walkout

殷余民

By Stephanie Zhou

控枪：亚裔高中生的声音

Gun Control: Voice by Asian American Youth

Photo by HB Students

视频链接：https://youtu.be/c4MDbuFmUqM

Stephanie Zhou 18

Hathaway Brown

Enough is Enough

I am an eighteen-year old Chinese American high school senior at Hathaway Brown in Cleveland, Ohio. I was two years old when the terrorist attacks on the New York City Twin Towers happened on September 11th, 2001. Swaddled in a pink blanket and guarded by the sanctuary of my mothers arms, I thrived in the safety of my suburban hometown, unaware of the violence that would change the meaning of "security" forever. Now, 16 years later, I am standing outside of my high schools courtyard, holding signs with the words "gun control" painted across in red, with gloved fingers and a glowing heart. For me, gun control isnt a political issue, there is no republican or democratic way to measure the loss of seventeen lives lost in Parkland, Florida. I am struck and dumbfounded by the idea of what could have been. Those seventeen high school students had bright futures: seventeen astronauts, seventeen doctors, lawyers, diplomats, and senators, seventeen souls lost. I am so privileged to stand here today, waiting for college decisions and shopping for prom dresses while there are horrific events taking place in our country. That is why when the clock struck 10 on March 14th, I joined hundreds of my fellow HB classmates, hand in hand, hearts wide open, as we walked out of school, not as one student body but as one nation, into the blistering cold.

Looking around, at the variety of young freshmen next to fellow seniors who were wiping frozen tears away, I was filled with pride. Pride for the generation we have created, pride for the changes we are making and pride for the future. The walkout was 17 minutes to honor the 17 lives lost, but this nationwide movement is simply the beginning of a passionate generation set in motion. It was empowering to hear the opinions and creativity of my peers while knowing thousands of students across the country were doing the same thing. The issue of gun control is not strictly bound to one region of the country or one level of education. Every student from first grade to college graduates should feel no fear when they take a step into an environment of learning. A teenage boy in Florida should not be afraid of the fire alarm because it has been used in the past as a shooters tactic of luring students out of class. We have become so numb to the pain in front of us we no longer blink at the daily headlines that have become so hauntingly tragic. But as I stood in the Cleveland winter, raising a sign that said, "Protect our Children, Not our Guns", I couldnt help but choke back tears. Today was the day，the day that would spark the change for generations to come. Gun control isn’t just for the current decade but it is for our future children who should be able to obtain an education without the constant fear of fire alarms, for our own parents who shouldnt have to worry that the next time they say "Have a great day at school" could be the last. I am not calling for the complete destruction of guns, it is our constitutional right to bear arms, but I am calling, begging even, for some sort of reform to protect the children in this nations school system. Social change is moving fast but please let it be fast enough so that I do not have to teach my future daughter how to crawl under desks and run from fire alarms. I know I am proud to have been a part of Hathaway Browns walkout and I am so thankful for the peers and teachers around me who support the movement and what it means for high schools students everywhere. Students around the country are no longer hiding, so take initiative and be a part of the change you want to see. Enough is enough.