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Date: 3/15/2018
CHICOPEE – The bulk of the student body of Chicopee Comprehensive High School participated today in a memorial observation and a call to action in reaction to the deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, FL.
The students were taking place in the National Walk Out, but organizers at Chicopee Comp told Reminder Publications they had decided to use the 17-minute observation as an assembly to convey to their fellow students actions they could take.
Although School Superintendent Richard Rege had instructed school administrators to work with students on the event, the Chicopee Police department issued a statement though Public Information Officer Michael Wilk that urged the students not to leave their buildings.
Wilk wrote on Facebook, “While we fully understand the passion, and desire from students and staff to get their message out over senseless tragedies that have occurred in our schools, we, as a law enforcement agency, do not feel leaving the safety and security of their school buildings, and going out into an uncontrolled area at a nationally advertised time and date, is beneficial to anyone. There are just too many scenarios where there is the potential of a safety risk to all students and staff. And, again, we support, and applaud, those students who are standing up to raise awareness, and wholeheartedly support their right to express themselves. We are just concerned over the safety of everyone, and hope a different, safer way of support could occur, such as what is posted here, courtesy of the Connecticut State Police, or, meeting somewhere in your building, like a gym, where your safety can be assured. Parents, we encourage you to speak to your children on this. Teachers, administrators and staff, we encourage you to come up with a way to ensure the students can express their views, and thoughts, in the safety of your buildings. Thank you.”
Daisy Shah, one of the organizers of the Comp event explained going outside the building was their original plan, but then the students decided having an assembly to present ways to prevent such tragedies in the future would be better.
Zoe Robinson, another of the organizing students, said among the four major steps the students were suggesting was to participate in the March for Life on March 24, she added there are marches planned for Amherst, Springfield and Boston.
Susan Cheng composed a group of four actions Comp students should take. The first is to reach out to others. Cheng wrote, “Everyone has their own struggles and being there for others is key to creating a positive school environment.”
The second is to register to vote or pre-register to vote, if you’re not of legal voting age, while the third step to express your opinion in a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker and/or Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey.
The fourth is to consider participating in the march on March 24.
Of the 1,350 students at Comp, school officials estimated there were about 1,200 students gathered in the gym for the presentation.
Shah told the audience students were “deeply affected by the shootings” and that Comp students were “standing solidly with school not only across the nation but around the world.”
While the students stressed their event was not political, Shah said they should “take action in whatever way we believe right.”
She added to applause, “ We will not see any change in the world until we become the change in the world. Let’s do it.”