Two weeks following the mass shooting at Michigan State University, students, faculty, legislators, and community members came together to rally and call for common-sense gun laws.
The rally on Feb. 27 was to be held at the steps of the state capitol building in Lansing but was moved inside Boji Tower due to weather. Several speakers included Michigan state representatives, survivors of previous mass shootings, including Oxford and Sandy Hook, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, and MSU faculty and students. The event ended with a “die down” to paint the image of what happens after these tragic events.
MSU political science senior Clarissa Mata, one of the event organizers, said the goal of this rally was very clear; “Just to get our message out there, a message that is long-past due, for gun reform, gun legislation, and more protection.”
Mata also said another important goal of events like these is simply bringing communities together.
“Just coming together and having a sense of community and support is just so important,” Mata said.”And so I just hope that people who attend can feel like they’re not alone and that we do have a really, really good chance of seeing a better future, even just in the next few years.”
Mata said she wanted to get involved because she hates guns and fears for a country where gun control laws are not put in place.
“I’ve hated guns since I can remember to be honest with you,” Mata said. “Sandy Hook happened when I was in sixth grade and I just remember thinking, pardon my French, but like ‘What the fuck, how does that even happen?’ Honestly, that’s the best way to put it, because I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that that happened and then continued to happen.”
Mata is also an intern for a state representative, living in a state where Democrats control all three chambers, and is “really trying to use all of the tools in [her] toolbox for good.”
To begin the event, co-host and MSU communications and vocal music junior Charlotte Plotzke spoke about her personal experiences with gun violence.
Walking the audience through her experiences from Sandy Hook, to Parkland, to Oxford, to now the Michigan State shooting, Plotzke spoke of her fear, anger, and call for action.
“I should not be hearing the words ‘Run, hide fight,’ ‘I love you,’ ‘Are you safe?,’ ‘Where are you?’ ‘I love you.’ Enough,” Plotzke said, as she recalled her experiences on Feb. 13. “I should not be receiving these messages. I should not be sending these messages. My friends and colleagues should not be receiving these messages. My friends and colleagues should not be sending these messages.”
Throughout her speech, Plotzke continued to call the audience to action, to demand change, to vote, and applauded all those who showed up.
“(U.S. Rep) Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks it’s patriotic to own an AR-15,” Plotzke said. “Do you know what I think it means to be patriotic? I think being patriotic is showing up to a rally, ready to brave the freezing rain, to demand every American citizen’s life to be taken seriously. That’s what it means to be patriotic.”
Following Plotzke, two previous mass shooting survivors shared their stories; Dylan Morris, senior at Oxford High School and executive director of No Future Without Today (NFWT) and Jackie Matthews, senior at MSU and Sandy Hook survivor.
“We go to school to experience new things,” Morris said. “We go to school to become better people. We go to school to build our futures. Justin, Madison, Arielle, Alexandria, and Brian went to school that day to build their futures, not have their futures taken away from them.”
Morris also called the audience to action, encouraging them to text “Today” to (206)828-8429, a program that his organization NFTW started in order to make it easy to contact representatives and senators and urge them to carry out the gun safety legislation they campaigned on.
Matthews said “It felt like history was repeating itself 10 years later,” as she sat in her room on MSU’s campus the night of Feb. 13.
Following the shooting, Matthews spoke to MSU students, Newton students, other Sandy Hook survivors, and many parents about how to move forward and what the next steps were.
“I received a text message from a Newtown parent that said ‘Not another parent should have to lose a child. Keep fighting,” said Matthews. “Those words alone were enough to push me past the desensitized opinions of rising gun violence, to not settle at being complacent.”
Matthews encouraged the community members and students to turn the phrase “Spartan Strong” into a revolution.
“Spartan Strong means policy and change. Spartan Strong means fighting for the kids who don’t feel safe going to school. Spartan Strong must not stop at the headlines of news articles.”
Professors at MSU also shared their experiences on the evening of Feb. 13 and how it affected them.
Mitchell Robinson, a MSU professor of music education, parent of two MSU students and member of the State Board of Education, shared his experiences that night and the action he wants to see taken.
“My son was in the MSU Union when the shooter opened fire,” said Robinson, “and my wife and I were terrified for four-and-a-half hours Monday night, waiting to find out if our kid was safe.”
Robinson shared his frustration with the government, as excuses have been given over and over again about why action hasn’t been taken and why these tragedies keep occurring. He shared some of these excuses, such as; “It’s not the guns, it’s a mental health problem,” “We need better school security,” or “Why are you turning this into a political issue?”
As a teacher, a father, and a member of the MSU community, Robinson wants to see change take place and he doesn’t want anybody to feel the same way he did the night of Feb. 13.
“The sad truth is that every child, parent and teacher in our schools lives under an ever-present fear that today could be their day. The day that someone armed with a deadly weapon will open fire in their school. And February 13 was our day at MSU,” said Robinson.
“So far in 2023, there have been 58 days and 86 mass shootings in this country. It’s our job to make sure that no child, no parent or teacher should be afraid if tomorrow is their day ever again.”
Dr. Brandon Van Der Heide, MSU professor of communication, also shared his thoughts and feelings. Claiming to not be a Democrat or Republican, to have never been a gun control advocate or expert in policy, but to be a dad, a husband, and “an old Spartan who loves his people,” Van Der Heide felt like he needed to have his voice heard.
“I know what it felt like in the evening hours of Monday, February 13, to search every single news release while carefully cross-referencing my class lists and praying for the safety of my students,” said Van Der Heide between tears. “And I know what it was like on Monday, February 20, to have to face grieving, traumatized students in the midst of my own grief. And know what it’s like to openly weep in front of my class.”
Van Der Heide also provided the perspective of the older generation to his students and the community members. He continuously apologized for the failures of his own generation for not keeping the younger generations of students safe and for not taking action sooner.
Van Der Heide concluded his statement by calling out those politicians and legislators who were not present at the rally and those who actively have stood in the way of progress on gun control by quoting American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan.
“You that hide behind walls, you that hide behind desks, I just want you to know, I can see through your masks. You that never done nothin’ but build to destroy, you play with my world like it’s your little toy. You put a gun in my hand and you hide from my eyes and you turn and run further when the fast bullets fly. You’ve thrown the worst fear that can ever be hurled, fear to bring children into this world. For threatening my baby, unborned and unnamed, you ain’t worth the blood that runs in your veins.”
Throughout the rally, many politicians and legislatures also spoke. These included U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, and Michigan state representatives John Fitzgerald, Penelope Tsernoglou and Julie Brixie.
Although these speeches were all different and shared distinct experiences, many of them shared the same message: That change was coming. All politicians mentioned the 11 gun safety and reform bills introduced by Michigan Democratic senators.
The bills focus on three main topics:
- Universal background checks for gun purchases.
- Safe storage requirements for gun owners.
- Red flag laws allowing judges to temporarily confiscate a gun from somebody posing a risk to themselves or others.
“It’s clear that the thing you need most from me is meaningful legislation that’s going to make our schools and our communities safer,” said Brixie. “I want to tell you that this time, it’s different. We have different parties in control and we have made a lot of promises about doing something about helping with the gun violence problem that we have in our state. We’ve been drafting up legislation, we’ve been working on it since the election and the bills are ready to go.”
Stabenow touched not only on what was being done in D.C., but what action has already been taken as well.
“The one piece that we did begging to do is that in the gun bill we passed this summer, which was a step forward, makes it harder if you’re under age 21 to get an assault weapon, it funds the red flag laws that the state is talking about and the processes to make that happen,” said Stabenow.
But the politicians reiterated that their job is not done, and it is their job to protect students and community members, and to take action so that something like this doesn’t happen again.
“Honestly, if we can save just one life, prevent just one event like this from happening, have to offer our thoughts and prayers just one less time, or print signs with another city or school with the word ‘strong’ emblazoned across it, then we will have succeeded in our efforts,” said Tsernoglou.