A few weeks back in early January there was a terrible tragedy in Tuscon, Arizona. A gunmen went on a shooting spree in a supermarket parking lot shooting at a congresswomen, her staff, and the constituents who had come out to meet her and talk to her about their thoughts on many local and national political issues. Sadly, six people were killed and over a dozen more were injured. In response to the tragedy President Obama called for a national moment of silence to be observed two days after the tragedy on Monday, January 10th at 11:00 am.
I was dissapointed, however, to find that on Monday the 10th 11:00 went by without WHS observing the moment of silence with the rest of the nation. Other schools in town like Mill Pond and Gibbons did observe the moment of silence. Now, if two schools in town with younger aged students, some of which are as young as 4th grade, can recognize a national tragedy, then we should have as well.
Even if for some reason 11:00 was not considered a good time by administrators, then why could we not have observed the moment of silence at a different time. After all, it’s the thought that counts. Besides, we miss numerous periods throughout the year for events like the winter concert, the teacher-student volleyball game, and the Thanksgiving game pep rally. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I like these events and I feel many of them add to the spirit of our school and community. My point is this: if we can spend several hours in total during the year celebrating our school, then we can spend one minute remembering a national tragedy and an attack on our country’s democracy.
Still, as much as I was disspointed there was no moment of silence, I was even more upset by the lack of student reaction to the tragedy and missing the moment of silence. The students I spoke to said that they either didn’t know about the tragedy or that observing the moment wasn’t that important because we probably didn’t know any of the victims.
So is that what we believe as a student body? “If an event or tragedy doesn’t affect me or someone I know, I shouldn’t care much.”
I certainly hope this isn’t the case, and I want to know what you think.
-Myles
