MONDAY, MARCH 26 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA
Fighting for the future A Battalion special package
Aggieland’s march with a message Students, B-CS locals join in on campus branch of worldwide demonstrations By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens As hundreds of demonstrators marched down the brick-paved path of Military Walk, Emma Watson, public health sophomore, shouted “We want change” from a white and blue megaphone, followed by an echoing chorus behind her. The March For Our Lives event in College Station was one of 846 sister marches held worldwide on March 24 held to advocate end gun violence through legislation. These marches were brought to life after the deadly shooting on Feb. 14 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which ignited a national conversation about gun law reform, mental health and public policy. Organizers estimate between 1,200 and 1,500 attendees showed up to the event, which began at Rudder Plaza at 5 p.m. and concluded at approximately 7 p.m. Watson, along with five other Texas A&M students, formed the local March For Our Lives event to work around the schedule of The Big Event, a yearly service project for A&M students. Their goal was to provide students the opportunity to participate in both events, according to Samira Choudhury, event organizer and biomedical sciences senior. “We are just so happy that the Bryan-College Station community has come out to support us,” Choudhury said. “We have had so many people register to vote, people are loving the sign making, we have really great stickers, really great speakers and we’re just really excited by how the event is going.” Student Body President Bobby Brooks, economics senior, was one of seven speakers who spoke before the march began. He spoke about social change in a tumultuous political environment, and said he felt this was the first time he was able to push for action on more serious national topics during his political career at A&M. “The crowd is so excited to be able to take a stand for something that we believe in and I love to be able to be a part of that,” Brooks said. Ray Frisbie, retired entomology professor, said
he attended the march because he believes gun reform must happen through policy change. “I’m on the side of school children that are being slaughtered by guns,” Frisbie said. “So, I think assault weapons, if you look at Sandy Hook, Columbine and Parkland, all those kids, assault weapons were the major thing.” Frisbie said he would like to see change through a complete ban and removal of guns categorized as assault weapons. “That is not going to please the [National Rifle Association] at all, but the NRA needs to come to terms with this, because basically we’re sacrificing our children for what they think is a Second Amendment right,” Frisbie said. “The Second Amendment is not the right to kill kids or other people, that’s why I’m here.” George Cunningham, sports management professor, attended with his wife and their three daughters. Cunningham said there is a tipping point of the need for change, which he felt even before the rising national attention to gun violence. His daughter, Maggie Cunningham, who is currently in the sixth grade, was by his side.
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AGGIELAND’S MARCH ON PG. 5
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4 Savannah Mehrtens & Brandon Holmes — THE BATTALION
1. Freshman Hana Farid walks in the march. 2. Freshman Alex Martinez gets active in the march. 3. Organizers Haley Motsenbocker and Emma Watson lead the College Station march. 4. Economics senior and Student Body President Bobby Brooks spoke before the march.
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A N A LYS I S
Experts discuss policy solutions to gun violence problem Texas A&M professors talk school security, gun restrictions, mental health and the conversation on calls for reform By Taylor Fennell @TaylorPaige1299 There have been 17 school shootings in which someone was hurt or killed this year, according to a CNN article. In each of these events, at least one person was shot by a perpetrator on a school campus, with environments ranging from high school classrooms to college dorms. These events have sparked discussions of policy solutions among Congress, families and students, and yet no solution has been agreed upon. Three professors at Texas A&M discussed gun violence and school shootings, making it clear multiple actions must be taken to ensure the safety of the American public. A spotlight has recently been cast on the notion of arming teachers, according to Danny Davis, lecturer and director of the homeland security certificate program. Davis said he would recommend this policy to school boards if he still had children in school. “I believe schools need selected staff and teachers that are armed,” Davis said. “They need to be trained and practiced with those weapons. If you’ve got a big campus of a thousand or 3,000 kids and you’ve got two policemen on it, there’s no way they can be everywhere.” Arming educators would not be a simple task because schools could be liable for potential incidents, according to Kirby Goidel, communication professor and director of the Public Policy Research Institute. Goidel said training programs would be necessary in order to avoid accidents. “The idea that having someone present who knows how to use a weapon and is capable of using it and is trained to use it, having them available, maybe that’s helpful, but let’s not just give teachers guns,” Goidel said. “If we’re going to give them guns, let’s put them through some sort of training so they know what they’re doing and get them prepared so if something happens, they can act like a police officer.” Goidel said solutions such as limits on assault rifles could save lives by reducing the amount of damage a shooter can do in a short time period. “A lot of people talk about limiting guns and access to things like the AR-15,” Goidel said. “That may not limit the number of mass shootings, but it would limit the damage that a single individual could do if they dePOLICY SOLUTIONS ON PG. 5
Graphics by Dean Zhu — THE BATTALION