We were deeply saddened to hear the news at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Our thoughts are with all of the families and victims of this terrible tragedy. Once again, there will be discourse on gun rights and history has shown us that this discourse will eventually be swept under the rug, with no real action taken by our representatives.
That being said, this tragedy also casts a strong light on our current political moment that we must struggle with if we want a safer and just society for all.
Our society as a whole does not prioritize mental health and schools are no different. We must rethink what it means to have safe and supportive schools for all and how that will not be possible if we cannot support every student who is suffering from deep depression and isolation. Many students have spoken of several warning signs when Nicolas Cruz was a student and it was clear that his emotional needs were not met. We are in a time of historic inequality, downward mobility, and deep levels of alienation. Can we imagine a society where Human development is prioritized over creating cogs in an unstable economy? One where every student had a counselor or therapist that truly had the capacity to invest in the emotional development of our young people? We must remind ourselves that what we put our money to reflects our morality. We must radically change that way resources in school are allocated to our education.
Our thoughts are with the community and we hope there is space to heal and continue to build community in this moment. We need each other now more than ever.
— James Lopez