UNC Student Organizations Take Action After Back-to-Back Gun Violence Incidents
UNC students Danielle Kennedy, left, and Amy Hyde, right, at the “End Gun Violence” protest in Raleigh outside of the NC Legislative building. Source for photo: News & Observer
The UNC Young Democrats have been extremely active following recent gun violence incidents on our campus. In an interview conducted by CPR with UNC Young Democrats’ president TJ White, he explained how his organization, along with UNC March for Our Lives and Students Demand Action, have motivated civic engagement on our campus and momentum in the NC legislature.
The Monday, August 28th shooting that occurred on UNC’s campus resulted in the tragic murder of UNC associate professor Zijie Yan and left the community scared, confused, and unsure of what actions to take. UNC Young Democrats were quick to react and organize a rally just two days after the incident. They decided on “This is our reality” for their demonstration’s title in an attempt to highlight the rampant presence of gun violence in our communities and how no one is immune to it. TJ White stated that the rally on Wednesday, August 30th had two goals: “to give students a place of community but also serve as a call to action.” He explained that through sharing their first hand accounts of the lockdown and shooting, student leaders were able to grieve, empathize with one another, and make it clear their organizations would be on the ground to protest for gun restrictions.
The organizations involved in the rally included UNC Young Democrats, UNC March for Our Lives, and UNC Students Demand Action. The Young Democrats also leveraged their connections with local and state leaders in the democratic party who were willing and able to be present for the rally. These representatives included NC House Representative Allen Buansi and NC Senator Graig Meyer. The rally also included speeches from community leader Nita Allam, Co-director of the non-profit Care in Action, and Parkland shooting survivor turned gun-reform activist David Hogg. According to White, UNC Young Democrats felt they accomplished both of their goals for the rally and were even able to register twenty-five people to vote. He stated that “the Republican majority in the NC House has made it hard to pass any gun reform legislation, but [his] organization’s Democratic allies have been fierce advocates.” For instance, in March the NC General Assembly leveraged its Republican supermajority in the Senate and majority in the House to override the veto of Governor Cooper on Senate Bill 41. This bill, "Guarantee 2nd Amend Freedom and Protections," effectively eliminated the requirement for people to receive a permit from their county sheriff to purchase a handgun and allows concealed weapons on private school property during religious services in NC.
Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg speaking at the “This is our reality” rally. Source for photo: AP News
For this reason, the UNC Young Democrats carried out a subsequent protest, the “End Gun Violence Rally,” at the NC General Assembly’s Legislative Building in Raleigh on September 12th. The students present were mainly members of UNC Young Democrats and March for Our Lives. Approximately 120 attendees gathered in the bicentennial mall listening to speakers before around 30 participants went inside the legislature. Once inside, the students chanted “Vote Them Out!” before being quickly escorted out for causing a disturbance. White stated he and his organization wanted to “keep the momentum [they] were able to harness in weeks prior.” He felt their actions at the legislature’s budget meeting for the 2024 fiscal year were “a necessary act of civil disobedience” with positive results. The students were peaceful, no one was arrested, and yet they made their voices heard while gaining media attention.
Just one day after the Young Democrats' visit to the North Carolina Legislature, UNC Chapel Hill faced a second lockdown on September 13th. The lockdown and campus-wide panic was in response to a loud confrontation in which an Alpine Bagel Cafe employee was threatened with a gun at the Frank Porter Graham Student Union. The battle for reform can feel helpless, especially with two gun-related incidents on campus occurring so close to each other. Many students live with the fear that they could be the next victim of gun violence. Allie Agnoli, a witness to the confrontation at the Union, stated the following: “I was like, 'Oh God, oh God, not again,’” as she barricaded under a table and prepared for the worst,”We could have watched that man die and then been next.”
So what can UNC students do to be an active part of the movement to change gun legislation locally? How can we fight as a community? White puts it clearly: “for youth in America, firearms are the leading cause of death. This is a fault not solely of mental health or interpersonal issues but of bad public health policy.” For greater clarify on what White means, the New England Journal of Medicine finds that firearm related deaths recently became the leading cause of death in children and adolescents in the U.S., with a 33.4% increase in the crude rate from 2019 to 2020. White believes what happened on our campus and what has been occurring nationally is preventable. White encouraged UNC students to join organizations on campus committed to gun reform, practice civil disobedience for the cause, register to vote, and direct their donations to work in mutual aid and violence prevention. This past Friday, September 22nd, UNC March for Our Lives visited the U.S. capitol to show their support for the announcement of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The new office will be overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris and focus on implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and any other gun violence legislation passed in the future.
At the university level, White pointed out that there are things we can do better in our reactive measures to a gun violence threat. He emphasized that “certain faults were exposed. Multiple doors didn't have locks, Alert Carolina’s messages were only sent out in English, which is not accessible to all of the staff on Carolina’s campus, and the rate of alerts and their detail need improvement.” It was even exposed by a UNC Young Democrats’ speaker during the “This is Our Reality” rally that some faculty, including Carolina Dining Services employees, were left uninformed during the first shooting on campus. It is clear that the University can make improvements to keep everyone safe on campus and that if students want to see changes in gun reform that directly affect them, there are resources, people, and organizations on campus with the same passion and eagerness to work together to effectuate such progress.