On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire in an academic building on UNC Charlotte’s campus. Two were killed, and four others were injured.
It’s hard to believe something like this could happen so close to home, at a university that reminds us so much of our own. Many of us have friends and family there who just as easily could have been the victims of this senseless violence.
We mourn with UNC Charlotte as they cope with this loss. So much has been taken from them — not only the lives of two of their classmates, but their innocence, their sense of security and peace of mind. Nothing will ever feel the same again.
It’s a feeling that far too many students in this country are familiar with. April 20 marked 20 years since the Columbine shooting. And on April 16, students at Virginia Tech remembered the 2007 tragedy that killed 32 of their own. In the aftermath of those shootings, we were angry. We wanted change. But it never came.
In the two decades since Columbine, more than 226,000 children have experienced gun violence at school. Their place of learning — a place where they ought to be the most safe — is now a place associated with their worst nightmares.
“Run, hide, fight” should never be a message that students have to receive while at school. Active shooter drills should not be something our students have to practice. We can no longer allow our gun laws to be influenced by lobbyists. These people literally benefit from the continued leniency with which we govern the possession of firearms in this country. We deserve better. Our children deserve better.
It is absolutely despicable that elected officials value the NRA’s blood money more than they value the lives of their constituents. In fact, North Carolina Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis both rank among the top five recipients of NRA contributions in the Senate.
These were real people. They had lives, families, friends. They were students just like us. And they were taken from us far too soon, on their last day of classes — right before finals. So close to celebrating the end of something they have spent the past several months working toward.
This shooting took place at a campus that isn’t plagued by racial tensions and white supremacy. At a place like UNC, where non-students are allowed to tote arms in faux authority against the law and white supremacists can speak openly about harassing students, the likelihood feels so much greater. After this shooting, we feel like sitting ducks on the grounds of our own University.
