Just days after an active shooter claimed the lives of two and injured six more on the Florida State campus, Florida A&M University student, Brandon Smith, gathered students and activists to protest senseless acts of gun violence like what was displayed this past Thursday.
Smith is a native of Broward County and can remember when the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School took place.
“I actually lost a friend by the name of Helena Ramsay. So, with the events at FSU, it’s starting to hit too close to home. I wanted to be the change and not just talk about the change,” said Smith.
Students from FAMU, FSU and activists from groups like Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society and Tallahassee Community Action Committee all took turns sharing stories of their fear during the attack, what change they wanted from Florida legislators and condemning the FSU administration for insensitivity towards students following the shooting.
Protestors were met with a light police presence which Smith was made aware of prior to the event and was told it was to ensure all protestors’ safety.
Junior Healthcare Management student at FAMU, Rikhari Lewis, proposed to the crowd a drafted letter to Florida legislators to reverse House Bills 759 and strike down Senate Bill 920 which aims to reduce the minimum age for a person to purchase a firearm from 21 to 18.
“Where you go to learn you should not be fearing for your life,” said Lewis.
Oliver Cheese, FSU student and member of Tally SDS, condemned his university’s laid-back response to what he calls “white supremacist groups and rhetoric” on their campus.
Many students at FSU have said they knew the accused shooter, Phoenix Ikner, to be involved in white supremacist and neo nazi spaces across campus.
He is also believed to be a follower of Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist, author and media personality who has been gaining a following across the country at colleges and universities.
The organizer, Smith, was grateful for the large turnout and wants FSU students to know that they have his condolences and is dedicated to making sure nothing like this ever happens again.
“We’re not going to stop until we see the change we want to see,” said Smith when asked what he wants Florida legislators to know about students’ response to the tragic events that have occurred in Tallahassee.
Tallahassee students plan to continue the fight for stricker and saver gun laws after the tragic event that has transpired at FSU.