Like most of our generation, I grew up practicing active shooter drills and seeing headlines of schools across the country turned into war zones. And despite living in a country that has normalized gun violence, I still didn’t think my education would be defined by gunshots.
That all changed in 2023 after a shooter opened fire on my college campus at Michigan State University.
I found myself huddled inside a campus gymnasium with my classmates, listening to police scanners and hoping the nightmare would end. Instead of playing basketball or lifting weights, we spent that Monday evening planning to fight back if the shooter found us. Between scanning the exits and clutching makeshift weapons, we texted our parents to say we loved them — scared it was the last time. For hours, we sat together, uncertain if we’d walk out alive.
Three of my classmates died that day, five more were shot and wounded, the Spartan community was forever changed — and so was I. I carry the trauma with me every day.
The trauma of gun violence has stolen my dreams and permanently shaped my future. The girl who once planned to become a teacher now can’t stand the thought of teaching in a classroom every day while the threat of gun violence looms. I changed paths, no longer pursuing my teaching degree, but instead focused my studies on how I could prevent this from happening again. Shortly after the shooting, I transferred to the University of Minnesota, hoping to find a fresh start.
But gun violence doesn’t stay behind just because you pack up your dorm room. It follows you. It stalks classrooms, churches, movie theaters, grocery stores, and college campuses across America. It was at Annunciation Church and School in Minnesota, Evergreen High School in Colorado, Utah Valley University — and that’s just a snapshot of the past two weeks. Wherever students go, we are carrying the weight of constant fear on top of our backpacks and textbooks.
This is not an environment conducive to young people trying to learn and map out their careers. College should be about making memories, discovering yourself, and imagining a future full of possibilities. Instead, for too many of us, it’s about lockdowns, unexpected goodbyes over text, and lifelong trauma. Gun violence is tearing our dreams apart before we even get the chance to build them.
Common-sense gun safety policies prevent tragedies like these. Michigan lawmakers understood this after the shooting at Michigan State. Americans rallied together, and the legislature passed a suite of common-sense gun safety measures into law — measures that research has shown to save lives. I believe every single state should not only respond to senseless acts of gun violence this way, but also take proactive steps to pass preventative gun safety legislation before more lives are stolen.
The simple truth is: This crisis is not inevitable. It is a direct result of politicians’ blatant refusal to act. While we’ve been forced to live with the reality of school shootings, Congress and state lawmakers have allowed assault weapons and high-capacity magazines — the very weapons of war that rip through classrooms — to remain accessible to the public. These types of guns have no place in a civil society, let alone easily purchasable by civilians. Nor are they worth more than our right to live freely or safely.
We need our leaders to show up — now more than ever. It is time our leaders stand with gun violence survivors, victims’ families, and communities shattered by preventable violence over the corrupt gun lobby who continues to profit off our lives.
Gen Z also has a responsibility as the next generation of voters to elect leaders with a proven track record of listening to us and supporting gun safety solutions. There are currently too many politicians sitting in positions of power who will never break away from the gun lobby’s paychecks. We must vote them out and replace them with candidates that will fight for our lives.
Gun violence stole my peace. No student should ever have to walk through campus hoping it won’t be the site of the next mass shooting. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have the power and duty to stop this crisis. Until there is action, my story and stories of countless other students across the country sadly will not be the last.
Timberlyn Mazeikis is a Students Demand Action volunteer and attends the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.