Students’ Thoughts on Gun Violence in the United States

As students, we carry so much fear in going to school. Recently students are concerned about personal safety, especially regarding gun safety. The threat of gun violence is growing among international students. Institutions must take the issue seriously; otherwise, not only the enrollment of international students will decline, but it will also diminish the experience of current students.

Is gun violence responsible for the decline in the enrollment of international students?

According to a survey by WENR,  nearly 88% of students feel safe against physical harm or any act of violence at their institutions. And majorly 79% of students feel safe in their local community. Similarly, with verbal injury or harassment, the majority of the students feel secure against them.

But although they feel safe against verbal harassment and physical harm, still they don’t contact secure when it comes to gun violence. Students have a strong saying that there are about 13,000 deaths every year in the U.S.  from gun violence. Students are traumatized and scared. Something needs to be done to remove guns from the hands of the civilians. Most of the young people are direct victims of gun violence. Nearly 37% of students feel worried about gun violence at their local community, and almost 25% of students strongly agree that gun violence is the reason behind the decline in the enrollment of international students.

Another view of the story is that a minority of the students believe that firearms are just weapons; they don’t kill anyone, and there is no harm in having guns at institutions. Arms are provided for safety, and teachers should be given a choice to be armed. A student in Madison Westcott says that “ I grew up in a house full of arms, but they were there to protect me. Similarly, it is absurd to have a gun-free school. Guns are needed to protect students from violence.

“We cannot let a minority of people — and that’s what it is, it is a minority of people — hold a viewpoint that terrorizes the majority of people.” – Hillary Clinton

Measures should be taken against gun violence

“I’m asking — no, demanding — we take action now.” – Cameron Kasky

As far as students’ safety is concerned, there should be one entrance with a guard. The enrollment procedure of institutes must include a mental assessment and background check.  Australia paid citizens to sell their guns back to the government, due to which percentage of homicides in that country dropped by 0.15 %. Similarly, the U.S. should do something to protect students from gun violence.

It’s high time that the United States should do something to take students out of deep depression.  We should not put all the blame on the mental ills; we need more strict laws against gun control. The change will not come on its own we need to reduce access to dangerous weapons. We should have safe and secure gun storage. We must ensure to reduce access to youth and individuals who are at high risk or harming others and themselves. Buying a gun should not be like buying a car.

Although it is essential to recognize that most people suffering from a mental illness are not dangerous, for those persons at high risk for violence due to mental illness, mental health treatment can often prevent gun violence. Students should be precluded from exposures to abuse in their childhood so that they can be conserved from a violent environment.

Besides, new immigrants are most likely to under report crime. Institutions must craft strategies to protect students from such violence. They must provide resources and pieces of training to students so that they can protect themselves from such crimes.