On Thursday afternoon, the Connecticut College community took part in a walk out to stand in solidarity with the students from Parkland Florida and to support the Never Again movement for gun laws. I interviewed Lola Pierson, one of the lead organizers in the event. Here is her story:
What is your year, major, and hometown?
Sophomore
Art major and Film Minor
Miami, Florida.
As a Floridian, what was your reaction to the Parkland shooting?
Devastation. I still see very personal and heartbreaking posts flood my Facebook feed and I cannot imagine the pain that some of these people are in. The closer it is to home the stronger the impact it has on a person, though it’s clear that most of the country has been deeply affected by this, partly due to the strength demonstrated by the MSD students. They are so brave.
How did discussions of a Connecticut College protest come about?
In my Film Theory class! Thanks to Professor Liz Reich, we realized that there wasn’t’t any word of a protest…at all…so a few of us dedicated our lunchtime to begin planning the walkout. Jillian Noyes, Yi Xie, Julianne Brown, Aidan Cort, Paolo Sanchez, Julia Sarantis, and Margaret Burns were all lead organizers.
Do you think it is important to have more activism on campus?
I really wish every student knew how much power we all have on campus in terms of organizing things like this. All it took was a week of planning over GroupMe, shared Google docs, and reaching out to the media to make sure that it was being documented (and therefore put on the map along with the other school protests for gun control). Facebook was essential, too. I participated in the DACA walkout (which definitely inspired some of the organization of our protest) and there were not enough people there. There also could have been way more participants at ours, but we are so thankful for everyone who did show up for lending their ears to the students and faculty who spoke. They are all active leaders.
What is next for the March for Our Lives Movement, do you see this turning into a campus organization?
I think that many high school and college students are going to participate in these protests, and I only hope that individual schools and student organizations continue to inspire each other to take action. At our rally, we provided participants with a handout that included a few different ways to make change regarding gun control and we really do think it’s effective. There is so much we can do.
Are you pleased with the way the protest was carried out?
Yes, I really am. And I think the other organizers are as well. The turnout was better than we had anticipated. Congressman Joe Courtney also showed up to speak, and it was extremely informative and inspiring, but I am mostly impressed with my fellow students. Really, I am blown away by some of the things they said.
How do you see colleges participating in Gun Law activism?
College students are so influential. I think that we all need to take advantage of the power we have in numbers and through collectively speaking out on social media. More protests, though. More phone calls. More voters.