MADDIE LITTLE
Special to The Leader
The impact of a school shooting on students is huge. They mourn; even months after the tragedy, they struggle mentally and emotionally while trying to figure out how to deal with what’s happened in their school.
Cameron Kasky is a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and this year’s Convocation speaker.
“When students have to mourn classmates, as Kasky and his peers at Parkland still do — when students have to participate in live shooter drills in schools — the gun violence debate has a real impact on them,” said Jennifer Hildebrand, convocations committee chair. “It is not responsible or fair to exclude them from these discussions, no matter what our motivation may be.”
Kasky has turned his traumatizing experience into a form of advocacy.
He travels on the “Road to Change” tour, a gun-control movement, and tells his survival story.
Each year, Fredonia holds a Convocation during which students get to hear from speakers who want to make a change. The speakers are chosen by the Convocation Committee based on the theme that is chosen for that specific year.
Kasky’s presentation is titled “Be the Change: Tools for a Movement.”
“Kasky’s title actually grew out of the theme that the Convocation Committee selected,” said Hildebrand. “We selected ‘Be the Change’ as the theme for this year’s discussions and events based on a quotation that is commonly attributed to Mohandas Gandhi: ‘Be the Change that you wish to see in the world.’ It complements Kasky’s activism and advocacy, but it also provides a meaningful theme for our campus to engage with beyond Kasky’s visit.”
Kasky has been successful in his tour, but has faced some problems along the way. He often found it difficult when it came to others not agreeing with his viewpoint.
Although Kasky’s ideas will deal with gun-control, the hope of the Convocation Committee is that his speech will encourage change.
“I hope that we can emphasize the importance of the discussion and engagement across ideas and opinions,” said Hildebrand.
The Convocation will be held on Sept. 18 in King Concert Hall at 3 p.m. The event is free, but ticketed.
ID is required.