Spartan Strong! Michigan State University and Students Demand Action

On February 13, 2023, - since the Michigan State University (MSU) shooting. Classes eventually resumed at Michigan State University.

Opinion echo published in the Detroit Free Press: 

Students Demand Action

"We’ve grown up in the midst of America’s gun violence crisis. In fact, we’ve been called the “school shooting generation.” Now we’re rising up and organizing in our high schools, colleges, and communities across the country to demand action to end gun violence."

The shooting news quieted down. But for students who lived through it, it feels like it was just yesterday. 

I remember sheltering in place, sending frantic texts to my family, praying everything would be okay. Even with the immediate threat over, the shooting still impacts us everyday. 

We’re still on edge, ready to run for cover. Every loud noise sounds like a gunshot, taking us back to that night — when gun violence tore through our campus, killing three Spartans, wounding five others, and leaving our entire community traumatized. In just a matter of moments, our illusion of safety was shattered, and East Lansing joined a long list of cities that will forever bear the scars of our gun violence crisis.

The month since February 13, passed in the blink of an eye, but it’s also felt like a lifetime. Even as we’ve sprung into action and urged lawmakers to take legislative action to address this crisis, we’re still hurting. For those of us who survived that night, we’ve spent a month reliving it, playing it back again and again. The pits in our stomachs, the fear in our chests. A part of us stays frozen in those unending moments of terror, grief and shock.

"'Our Spartan Hearts Are Broken': Remembering the 3 Michigan State Students Killed in Monday's Mass Shooting," People Magazine.

I hear it might get easier — that with time, we’ll find a path to healing. Those of us who survived will go on to graduate and build new lives. For the loved ones of the victims, it won’t be so simple. Their children, siblings, and friends will stay forever 19 and 20. They won’t get to grow up or chase their dreams. They won’t get to walk across the stage for commencement. Tragically, their families will carry the weight of this tragedy for the rest of their lives. And while we can never take away that hurt, we can and will honor them with action every single day.

Spartan Strong

I didn’t think a horrible shooting like this could ever happen at MSU, but when the shots rang out and I watched my fellow students spring into action, I realized that we’ve been preparing for a nightmare like this one our entire lives. Our generation has been forced to grow up living in fear of the next shooting. We’ve practiced how to stay quiet and out of sight, rehearsed how to run, hide and fight.

This wasn’t isolated. This tragedy took place one day before the five-year mark of the shooting in Parkland (Florida) — on a campus where survivors of the shooting at Oxford High School live and study. But it’s not just the horror of the school shootings. Gun violence in all its forms — including homicides, unintentional shootings and firearm suicides — impacts young people around the country every single day. Guns are the leading cause of death for children, teens, and college-aged Americans who should have a right to a life free from the constant fear of being shot.

As a country, we’ve accepted that this is the reality of being young in America — shootings on campus, traumatized students, vigils instead of classes. But I refuse to accept that this is the way things have to be. I refuse to let future generations of students grow up like we have, living in constant worry that any day could be their last.

It’s not the responsibility of young people to keep ourselves safe, but once again, it’s our generation that is bearing the weight of this crisis, and it’s our generation that is showing up to demand change. Over the last month, students, survivors, and advocates have flooded our campuses and our capitol, painting the state green and white, and calling on lawmakers to meet this tragic moment with urgency.

And they have listened.

Right now, Michigan has a real opportunity to make meaningful change. Thanks to the tireless work of gun safety advocates and voters, the political landscape has shifted. We’ve elected lawmakers who prioritize gun safety, including Moms Demand Action volunteers, and we’ve secured a gun sense trifecta in the House, Senate and the governor’s mansion. Voters have done our jobs. Now, lawmakers must do theirs.

As the weeks since the shooting have shown us, so much can be accomplished in a month. In the wake of the shooting, state lawmakers moved quickly to introduce a package of foundational gun safety bills — including background checks on all gun sales; secure firearm storage; and extreme risk laws, also known as red flag laws — that will help close the gap in Michigan’s gun laws. 

Polling shows that Michigan voters on both sides of the aisle overwhelmingly support these policies. 

These bills are moving quickly through both chambers, and now, we must get them across the finish line and onto Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.

We proudly stand with lawmakers who have championed these gun safety policies, and we will continue to work hand in hand with them to get this done.

But there is no more time to waste. We know the cost of inaction, and we can’t afford to pay it. This time must be different. We deserve better — we demand better.

Saylor Reinders, is the President of the Michigan State University chapter of Students Demand Action.