Two weeks ago, six lives were claimed in a shooting at the Covenant School in Green Hills. On Tuesday, WPLN’s daily show This Is Nashville made space for Nashville high schoolers to talk about their immediate reactions and what they want lawmakers to do about it.
Here’s some of what they had to say:
“Seeing all my peers just looking like afraid for their life … I was honestly frustrated. I was outraged and I was feeling sad for the families.”
— Blessyn Nkrumah, junior at an Antioch charter school
“I texted my mom and I was like, ‘I don’t feel safe at school.'”
— Marley Mello, freshman at a downtown Nashville public high school
“It was just so devastating that it was hard to focus on just school in general because it just makes you think whether you’re going to make it to see your next birthday, because you never know what happen.”
— Israel Perez, junior at a North Nashville public high school
“When something like this happens, particularly, it can be eye opening for a lot of lawmakers. But there are people who are going to run and try and bury their face in the pillow. And I just think that’s wrong and almost deplorable in a way.”
— Ryder Haje, sophomore at a private school in West Nashville
“(Tennessee lawmakers) need to start taking the responsibility that comes with being in a position of power instead of just taking the benefits. … If I was speaking directly to them, I would let them know how much they’re failing us as the future leaders of this world. They’re looking us in the eyes and they’re letting us die.”
— Chloe Spangler, founder of Nashville Students for Change and a junior at a public high school in Donelson
“My hopes are for a future where kids like me go to school and they’re not afraid. My hopes are that our government starts listening to us.”
— Sophie Kavalali, a senior at a West Nashville private school
Click here to find the full conversation about gun violence and what students need to feel safer in school.
The music for this piece is “Levander Crest” from Blue Dot Studios.
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