Students, Community Members Hold Rally Against Gun Violence

UC San Diego students and community members held a rally against gun violence that started in front of Geisel Library and ended at Price Center Plaza on April 5. Organized by Our Time to Act United (OTTA), a local nonprofit youth activist group, the rally was part of a nationwide school walkout and protest.

About a dozen participants rallied outside Geisel Library at 12:00 p.m. where they chanted, “No more silence, end gun violence!” and “When student lives are under attack, stand up, fight back!” Chants could be heard across campus as protestors marched in a loop ending at Price Center Plaza. The demonstration ended with speeches on the impact of gun violence by UCSD students and community members representing San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention (SD4GVP).

Demonstrators shared that their goal was to rally in solidarity with protestors in Nashville after the shooting at The Covenant School on March 27. Nicole Lillie, a second-year Political Science major and the Housing Projects Director of OTTA, spoke on the never-ending cycle of mass shootings in the nation.

“Five years ago … I walked out of class with my fellow students to speak and demand action for the 17 lives needlessly lost at Stoneman Douglas High School,” Lillie shared. “Last May, as I finished my first year of college, my heart broke for the students of Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas … Last quarter, … I was reminded that graduating high school does not mean access to an education without the threat of gun violence, and my heart went out to the students of Michigan State University.”

Since the rally on April 5 to today, May 26, there have been 105 mass shootings in the United States, according to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive.

 “It’s an epidemic in the nation,” stated Leana Cortez, a third-year Global Health major who participated in the rally.

The “epidemic” continues to impact communities across the United States, as daily occurrences of gun violence persist in many cities.

“It’s not just the mass shootings, it’s the daily toll of 110 people,” Vice President of SD4GVP Carol Landale shared, referring to the 110 lives lost to gun violence every day.

Landale emphasized the importance of expanding community-based resources to turn youth away from guns.

“There are so many ways we can do something, and we just need to motivate people to get the work done,” Landale stated.

Demonstrators shared that the fight won’t be over until action is taken by legislators and change is effected.

“Until they listen, until they, as the youth of Nashville, Tennessee put it, ‘pull their heads out from under the desks and pass gun policy,’ we must make every month a month of action for gun violence prevention,” Lillie stated.

Liam Winstead is an Assistant News Editor for The Triton.