Thursday, March 22! Following the #NeverAgain walkout (wikipedia.org/NeverAgain), Whitney Young is hosting a debate on March 22 on gun control. Proposed by Angel Silva, ‘18 and agreed to by Dr. Kenner, a gun control debate is in the works and has a committee set to organize exactly how everything is to be run.

The current model is this: there will be three students and possibly one teacher on either side of the issue: those who that are opposed to most modern gun control proposals, and those in favor of them. Those in opposition to the majority of today’s proposed tighter gun regulations have the student lineup ready: Angel Silva, Joshua Schoonmaker (yours truly), and Craig Cox, all of whom are seniors. Those in favor have yet to announce an official lineup, but one student is most likely going to be a part of their team: Deztinee Geiger, ‘18, and Keren Gekker, ‘18, a member of Whitney Young’s debate team, is currently set to be the moderator of the upcoming debate.

Photo Courtesy of SubstanceNews.net

So far, members of the committee for the scheduled debate have reportedly received mixed student feedback. Braulio Cornejo, ‘18, is personally excited for the debate: “I think as long as things can stay relatively civil, this will be a good outlet for stances that are often underrepresented at Whitney Young.” On the other hand, one student who prefers to remain anonymous had this to say: “I’m worried about how this debate is going to go. Whitney Young’s overwhelmingly progressive, and with so many against the anti-gun control side, I’m genuinely worried that people will harass, heckle, insult, and in general talk over each other. I’m all for civil discourse, but I don’t think this is going to go well. I just hope that both sides realize the complexity of the issue by the end of the debate. If no one goes home learning something, it was worthless.”

Others have understandably made the case that a debate might be especially polarizing in the already heated political climate here at Whitney Young. Brandon Nguyen, ‘18, makes an interesting point in contrast to that, however: “Personally I think the idea of having a student led discussion on gun-control is necessary, opening perspectives on certain issues between peers. It would be a great opportunity to establish a greater sense of community when we can come together and have a civilized discussion about a topic as controversial as gun control.”

Regardless of thoughts and feelings regarding both the issue of gun control and a student debate over the controversy, the theater doors are open during long division on March 22 to Juniors and Seniors, and members of the committee strongly encourage participation in the event, especially for a potential expansion of attendees’ knowledge base regarding guns, gun violence, and gun control. It is important to bear in mind that it helps no one to think that anyone, no matter where they stand, does not care about those affected by gun violence, and that there are valid points to be made for any stance taken. For more information and perhaps in preparation for questions to be asked at the debate, visit https://gun.laws.com/gun-control/gun-control-arguments-for-and-against. It is equally important to consider that while some are opposed to certain forms of gun control that others are in favor of, there is an incredibly broad range of stances between “anyone can own anything,” and “no one at all, including police and security, should be allowed to own a firearm.”