Talking to Nashville Students About Last Week’s Walkouts

On March 14, students at schools across the country staged walkouts in protest of gun violence. In Nashville, photographer Giles Clement (see his work here) traveled to several schools — including University School of Nashville, Nashville School of the Arts and Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School — where he captured images of the students who took part in the walkouts.

Now that these students have our attention, we thought we’d ask them to explain why they participated in the protests.

Milly “Moon” West, 17; junior at University School of Nashville

“I wanted to participate in the school walkouts because gun control is really important to me. I’ve known two teenagers who died due to gun violence. After the events of Parkland and other mass shootings, I knew it was time to stand up. I helped organize my school’s walkout, then drove down to the Capitol to stand with friends in protest. I protested because I’m tired of adults in power not protecting innocent American citizens. Since I will be able to vote in the next election cycle, I want to make sure my voice is heard. It’s crazy to me that at 18 I could buy a gun, but I have to be 21 to drink and 25 to rent a car? ... Now that this movement has gotten the media attention it deserves, I want my lawmakers to know that my peers and I will fight until we have common-sense gun laws. I want adults to know that we aren’t just a generation of social media and texting — we’re a generation of thinkers and fighters who will use media to express our opinions and gain power. We are future voters, and we will not stand for government officials that have funding from the NRA.”

Maggie Richards, 15; freshman at Nashville School of the Arts

“I spend a lot of time thinking about all of those kids who were just like me who were caught up in events that were out of their control, some of them losing friends, some of them losing family, and some of them losing their own lives. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to live with something like that. My parents always taught me to stand up for things that I believe are important, and I deeply believe that those kids were the victims of something completely out of control in our society. The sheer number and availability of guns in this country make it all too easy for things like this to happen. I believe that those kids did not deserve to suffer through things like that when it could be easily prevented. It’s our society’s job to protect the young people, and this is something I think that they could do a better job of. So when I saw other kids across the country taking a stand and speaking out about this, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

Matthew Moses Drake, 14; freshman at Nashville School of the Arts

“Now that we have the attention of the media, lawmakers and adults, I would like to say that change needs to happen, and it needs to happen now. Schools should not be an active war ground, and education should not be a matter of life or death. A way to start would be raising the legal age for purchasing a gun to at least 21, as well as doing ... more in-depth background checks, banning the the purchase of military-grade assault weapons, and making it necessary to renew your gun license every three years, as well as many other things. ... Lawmakers are too afraid of losing an election to stand up to the gun lobby. Is winning an election more important than the lives of the future America? This needs to end now. My job is to go to school. Theirs is to keep me safe.”

Lydia McMillan, 16; sophomore at Hume-Fogg Academic High School

“It’s a shame that my generation is somewhat desensitized to these massacres because they’ve been going on all our lives. But what is more of a shame is that people will rant and get upset but not do what is necessary to get the job done. Get out and vote for the representatives that feel the same way you do. Me, I’m unable to do so, but when I turn 18 next year, I can’t wait to exercise the right my people fought so hard to get. These weapons shouldn’t even be accessible to civilians anyway — what need do we have for an assault rifle in the first place? And then to want to put guns in the school, making guns more accessible to one that would want to harm a classmate or teacher. That’s like giving the shooter the gun directly. On top of that, I as an African-American don’t want to be worried about being shot by a teacher because I was a ‘threat.’ ”

A student-led March for Our Lives event is set for March 24 at Public Square Park. See our Critics’ Picks for more on that.