Vice President Kamala Harris and Dani Faulhaber. Image provided.
GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH
KETNER EMERGING LEADER SCHOLAR’S ACTIVISM AT COFC
WRITTEN BY DANI FAULHABER (she/her), KETNER EMERGING LEADERS SCHOLAR
No student should have to sit in their classroom and plan out what they would do when a gunman walks through the door. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common reality for students in America, which is why I indulged in gun violence prevention research and started building a community where students on the College’s campus can come together to discuss the realities of gun violence and what we can do to end it.
I spent my first two years on campus working through the Honors College on reviving Students Demand Action at the College of Charleston. I also conducted research on South Carolina’s legislature regarding guns and how it compares to legislative practices recommended by Everytown for Gun Safety and practiced in other countries where guns are not the number one killer of children and teens.
Finally, in my third year at the College, my peers and I were able to activate the organization on campus and start building the community I need as someone who has been personally affected by gun violence.
Because of my involvement with Students Demand Action, I got to attend Kamala Harris’s Fight for Our Freedoms tour here in Charleston and shake her hand. At the same time, she told me to “stay strong,” something easier said than done when fighting to end gun violence.
I’ve met and worked with students from all over the nation fighting for the same goal I am, and this process has opened opportunities I never thought I would get to experience. Please register to vote and vote for gun-sense candidates. We have more power than we think when it comes to a brighter future.