{"id":2110,"date":"2018-09-23T23:55:16","date_gmt":"2018-09-23T23:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/yearbook\/?p=2110"},"modified":"2020-09-04T16:08:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T21:08:56","slug":"march-for-our-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/yearbook\/2018\/09\/23\/march-for-our-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"March for Our Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Chase Merwin<\/span><\/p>\n

The Valentine\u2019s Day tragedy in Parkland, Florida, seems to have been the final straw for millions of Americans nationwide, especially students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All across the country, America\u2019s youth have taken on leadership roles in organizing, planning and executing local movements to convince politicians of \u201ccommon sense gun reform.\u201d They took on the \u2018March for Our Lives<\/a>\u2019, the master movement created by those Parkland students who, having experienced the tragedy, decided enough was enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Locals in St. Joseph were no less inspired. Organizations from not only the community but also the university were equally involved in giving students an exclusive voice for gun control. These organizations included Moms Demand Action, the Buchanan County United Democrat Club<\/a> and student organization Women of the Future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Melinda Kovacs, professor at Western and faculty advisor for Women of the Future, said that while many organizations sponsored St. Joseph\u2019s \u2018March for Our Lives\u2019, it was really about the students\u2019 voices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our most important areas of emphasis was that \u2018March for Our Lives\u2019 was a student movement, a student event and student moment in American politics,\u201d Kovacs said. \u201cOnce the local march happened, nobody from any of these groups spoke.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Marianne Kunkel, assistant professor of creative writing and publishing<\/a>, was an active participant in the movement. She said that teachers\u2019 involvement with students in the \u2018March for Our Lives\u2019 was imperative because students should not have to worry about their lives on top of course work and other responsibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for my students who, with everything they\u2019re trying to tackle, have to worry about their safety on campus,\u201d Kunkel said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kunkel also said that she found inspiration in the uprise of students for the \u2018March for Our Lives\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI find their ability to speak very articulately back to politicians so inspiring,\u201d Kunkel said. \u201cThey make me feel like I haven\u2019t done enough with my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Cynthia Jeney, associate professor of English<\/a>, was another faculty member involved in the \u2018March for Our Lives.\u2019 She said that the importance of student-teacher involvement was especially important in colleges, as many college students are parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re together in this; it\u2019s all of us,\u201d Jeney said. \u201cI teach in a university and usually it\u2019s only a matter of two or three years between when I have a student in one of my upper-division courses and that person is a professional and a parent.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph Kellogg, a student advocate and participant of \u2018March for Our Lives\u2019, said that the problem of gun violence can no longer be overlooked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Parkland students lived through the school shooting but then all of us know what it\u2019s like to have that fear,\u201d Kellogg said. \u201cPeople can\u2019t ignore the problem anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kellogg said the movement has demonstrated that young people do care about the politics and future of the world they\u2019ve grown up in, despite popular misconceptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very interested in politics – that\u2019s what I want to do,\u201d Kellogg said. \u201cI want to help make a difference, and it\u2019s shown me that it\u2019s possible. A lot of times people dismiss our generation as lazy or apathetic but this movement stands in direct contrast.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018March for Our Lives\u2019 garnered much support, from students to teachers and everyone in between. Students\u2019 voices are finally being heard, and the movement, while preceded by a horrible tragedy, was a rousing call to millions of Americans nationwide. While nothing has been changed yet, it may be safe to assume that it is just over the horizon.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t