In the News

By Jeff Rumage

Proving that the school walkout movement is not limited to high-schoolers, roughly 40 students from Shorewood Intermediate School walked out of school on Wednesday, May 2, to advocate for gun reform.

The march, titled "Am I Next?" was organized by SIS students Ellie Sweet and Jamie Puppe. The students wore shirts with popular gun reform taglines, such as "Am I next?" "Enough is enough" and "Fear does not belong in schools."

After a half-hour rally in front of the intermediate school, the students marched to Congresswoman Gwen Moore's office, where they were expected to hold a meeting with Moore about gun reform and gun laws.

Similar to the students who have walked out of Shorewood High School and other schools around the country, the students at Shorewood Intermediate School called for the ban of assault rifles for civilian use, the ban of bump stocks and other accessories that turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons, a four-day waiting period after every gun purchase and universal background checks.

"We will not stop walking until we get what we need," Jamie said. "We will walk out of class. We will continue to march. We will continue to write and call and email until there is change and until politicians start valuing our lives more than their money from the NRA."

Citing statistics from the Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence, Ellie said 318 people are shot each day in the U.S. Ninety-six of those people die. Seven of those people are children and teens.

"The unfortunate truth is that, if we do nothing, one of us in society is next — and that is not OK," Ellie said.

Eighth-grader Selmae Caldart said more than 206,000 children have experienced gun violence since the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

"Often adults think our voices don't matter, but the issue affects us. Young people are dying," she said. "If we are old enough to be shot, then we are old enough to have an opinion about it."

Shorewood Village President Allison Rozek commended the students on their activism.

"I was very encouraged this year to see the high school students and the middle school students coming together to make an impact," she told the students. "I am really hopeful that our federal and state legislators will not only listen to your voice, but that you will be heard and that you can actually make a change in our democratic society."

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