Citation

Pryal KRG. Women High. Educ. 2018; 27(5): 14-15.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/whe.20576

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Last month in this publication I wrote about the important activism of young people. As higher ed employees (and as journalists who cover higher ed), we are surrounded by young people. I noted that in my work, I hear a lot of scorn for the young people. But in light of the recent tragedy in Parkland, Florida, the kids have risen to the occasion. I also pointed out that the kids of Black Lives Matter have been doing similar good work over the past few years (to much less acclaim).

And yet the Parkland teens are not perfect, nor is their activism. As many folks on social media have pointed out, to offer helpful criticism of the work of the Parkland kids and other gun control activists does not mean you are tearing down that work. It means you want to make that work stronger. It is in that spirit that I offer helpful criticism now. Do not use people with psychiatric disabilities as scapegoats in the gun control debate. Scapegoating mentally ill people is a ploy.

Gun violence has been a problem for college campuses for decades, ever since a sniper climbed the clock tower at the University of Texas in 1966 with a rifle and opened fire, killing 17 people. The shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 was one of the deadliest spree killings in history, killing 32 students and faculty. The list goes on. The point is, gun violence haunts college campuses. When the March for Our Lives took place in March 2018, the lives of college students--not just precollegiate students--were on the line.

Language: en