I am a junior at Cary Academy, and I am writing as a representative of Why Wake Walks, a student organization advocating for comprehensive gun reform. I support common-sense gun control because America has a gun problem. There are over 30,000 gun-related deaths in the U.S. each year, averaging to about 96 deaths per day.
But without humanizing these deaths, the numbers remain numbers. The policy remains policy. Abstract. Nebulous. Far-fetched. So I demand gun reform alongside every woman in America who has been shot by her husband. I demand gun reform alongside every black American who has been the victim of firearm-related police brutality. I demand gun reform alongside every marginalized group who has been fighting this fight for years, only to be silenced by those with more privilege.
And I demand gun reform for my own self-interest. I demand gun reform because, although I attend a ‘safe’ school in a safe area, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was also a ‘safe’ school in a safe area. I am not the only one. Although most of us cannot even vote, millions of other students are mobilizing in support. Why isn't the rest of America?
Putting in hours
The letter to the editor “Teacher pay ‘enough’[1]” (Apr. 7) alleging teachers “only work 180 days a year” should get the basic facts straight: NC public school students and teachers are required to be in class 185 days per school year, and there are 4 additional days teachers attend training while students stay home. Teachers must also report to school a week before students arrive, and remain a week after students depart for summer break.
During that
