CSS Silent Protest

   By Sophia Staker, Emily Whiteman

On September 5, 2025, at 1 p.m. at the Conrad Schools of Science. The class of 2026 student council has taken the task of organizing this silent protest for grades 9th-12th. The class of 2026 student council organized this because, after the 1999 Columbine shooting, more than 390 K-12th-grade school shootings have occurred. That has resulted in over 200 deaths and 440 injuries. Since 1999, 360,000 U.S. students have experienced gun violence in their schools. Not only does gun violence happen in schools, but in homes, too. Gun violence has affected millions of  Americans, with 58% of U.S. adults experiencing it or has known someone who has or someone who has been killed by it. In 2023 alone, sadly, 46,728 people have died due to gun-related injuries. 

After interviewing students, we gathered their opinions and thoughts on this protest, and this is what they had to say:

 “Me and my council members and I had a meeting to discuss this. After talking, there have been very tragic things involving children. It seems like every other day, there is some sort of tragic event that has happened. And even though we go to a school that has not had something, having something doesn’t mean we as students can speak up about what has been happening.”- Zayan Powell

 “Personally, having friends and family that have gone through issues like this, it is good that we use our voices to speak up about these problems.”- Kelly Nichol

 “I feel like this is an issue that should not be happening; students should not be scared of going to school. Guns should not be brought around children in any type of way.”- Cameren Hinckle

“ I think that this protest is a good way for us to start using our voices about what has been happening. I feel that there are more things that we can do.”- Khole Mockewich