By Sue
Sitton
Since
the Parkland school shooting on Valentine’s Day, young people are speaking out
and have started a movement to demand gun safety legislation. They fearlessly challenge the NRA, which is
more than many of our elected officials have done. Our kids are tired of the same old line of
“thoughts and prayers.” Students from
our own Township are at the center of this movement, using poetry to share the
fears and frustrations of being the target for school shootings. We need to “Stand with our kids” and support
them to stay energized to keep their movement going.
On
March 24th, four talented students from Hinsdale Central High School
performed their poem “Trigger Warning” at the March for Our Lives Chicago. Ellie Pena (freshman), Amani Mryan (junior),
Kai Foster (senior), and Ayana Otokiti (junior) are members of the Poetry Club. They wrote and performed their poem “Trigger
Warning” at the march.
After
being posted on the Facebook page NowThisNews,
their performance went viral (over 3.5 million views and counting). If for some reason you didn’t see it, take
the time to watch and listen. Also, see The
Doings – Burr Ridge article, “Hinsdale
Central girls’ March for Our Lives poetry video goes viral”.
A few
days before the march, Kai was a volunteer at the DGTDO office and shared that she
was excited and honored to be able to be part of this important event. It is so great to see young people involved
and in action on important issues. Let’s
not take them for granted.
