Bolingbrook Parents Respond to Florida Shooting with Support

Bolingbrook High School is not always viewed in fair lighting. People deem it gang-infested and fight-filled. BHS is a school that symbolizes diversity and reflects world issues, making it known to young people that problems seeming out of reach are just around the corner. Student athlete Brandon Walters, a senior at Bolingbrook High School, tweets that “Although people may say it is boring and ‘ghetto,’ Bolingbrook is a prime example of what America should be: A melting pot of race and cultural backgrounds; a place full of willing and accepting people.”

To further the beauty of our town, last Monday, February 19th of 2018 at 7 P.M., parents of students at BHS gathered after making a secret group chat on Facebook. They planned to decorate the school with Post-Its reading positive messages, filling the school not with violence or negativity but phrases that would hopefully brighten someone’s day. In just 30 minutes, parents got the entire building finished, splitting up to get different areas done. Jeanne DiCostanzo, a parent that participated in the event as well as my wonderful mother, explains her perspective: “I felt good leaving messages for kids I didn’t know because it could have been the one thing that changed their day.” Let’s praise these parents for addressing the shooting in Florida but also focusing on positive reinforcement going forward.

It is our duty to do what is right, not what is easy. Making a difference in the world that everyone will see is a challenge but starting small is key and so is keeping priorities intact. Keeping kids safe should be the first thing addressed by those who hold power higher than ours. Drugs and alcohol are illegal and yes, people find a way to access them, but there are a lot less people finding a way to get them than if they were legal. If drugs, alcohol, and guns were legal with few limitations on who could purchase them, there would be a ton more people who would use them religiously. No law passed or action Americans take will completely abolish gun violence, but making sure it is a hassle to gain access to a gun is a step towards minimizing that violence. Banning guns may lead to people finding another way, but let them do so! Let them struggle and fight because in today’s society, it is too easy for one to get their hands on a dangerous and unnecessary firearm.

Let’s put an end to this gun violence and start keeping our children and futures safe. Once we start accepting what is going on in the world, only then can we truly begin to fix it and work our way to a better life. Doing this showed students that starting small is a BIG deal. Lindsey Flood, a junior at Bolingbrook High, took the time to recognize that “parents and community members took their time to do that,” in regards to the successful attempts to lighten the world of education after such a tragedy struck the nation. While some people mindlessly walked down the halls, those sticky notes could have turned someone’s entire day around. Be mindful and consider others, always!