Activism In Me: Erie's Students Walkout: Savannah Henry
I realized then that I could stand up myself.
Maitham Basha-Agha: Why did you participate in the walkout?
Savannah Henry: Seeing all those young people standing up for what they believe in, free of fear from adults, not scared of being deemed "too young," really resonated with me. I realized then that I could stand up myself.
MB: What are you hoping to achieve?
SH: People keep asking "something needs to be done but I don't know what?" Young people taking a stand are how are getting things done. We cannot ban guns or stop murders ourselves, what we can do is urge our legislators to change the gun laws we have.
MB: What would you like the legislators to do?
SH: I think the legislators should make it harder to purchase firearms. It is ridiculous how easy it is for me to go legally buy a gun. I also feel the need for no access to machine guns and other military weapons.
MB: Activism has increased especially among the young generation. Do your family, teachers, friends, etc.. support your activism?
SH: My family has been nothing but supportive. They think it's amazing that I'm "fighting for what I believe in." Not all of the teachers at my school, however, were supportive of the movement. The teachers I am close too however said they were also incredibly proud. One teacher of mine even said she cried during our speeches at the event of the walkout. My friends have also been incredibly supportive and have gotten involved in the process as well. One of my friends screen-printing t-shirts with the saying "Do we love our guns more than our kids?" while another one of my friends helped me create posters and ribbons for the walkout.
