Uvalde, Texas: Demand Action.

Makenna Lee Elrod, 10

Layla Salazar, 11

Maranda Mathis, 11

Nevaeh Bravo, 10

Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10

Xavier Lopez, 10

Tess Marie Mata, 10

Rojelio Torres, 10

Eliahna “Ellie” Amyah Garcia, 9

Eliahna A. Torres, 10

Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10

Jackie Cazares, 9

Uziyah Garcia

Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10

Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10

Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10

Irma Garcia, 48

Eva Mireles, 44

Amerie Jo Garza, 10

Alexandria “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio, 10

Alithia Ramirez, 10

It saddens me to have to write this -- a too frequent topic covering yet another horrific act of gun violence -- but it is vital that we educate one another.

In Uvalde, Texas on 5/24/22, 19 children and 2 adults were fatally shot at Robb Elementary School in Texas. This is the second largest massacre that we have experienced since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, leaving 26 people dead. Yesterday's act marked nearly 27 acts (at least) of gun violence causing death and injury in a US educational institution in 2022 alone.

Our hearts and prayers go out to those loved ones, students, and faculty affected by this heinous crime. We grieve with you; we stand with you. Yet, this is not enough. We must offer more than thoughts and prayers; we must enact change to end this horrific Gun violence.

Let's demand action.

PHC will take action by tying a ribbon in our community and wearing orange. Whether you are tying a ribbon with a specific name in your mind or a specific occurrence, the mere action stands as a reminder to each individual on our campus that we must take action.

Why an orange ribbon? In this, we remember not only the massacre which occurred just on Tuesday and not only the 27 acts of gun violence causing death in a US educational institution in 2022 alone. Rather we remember every single victim of gun violence in the United States, with the massacre in Uvalde at the front of our minds. Furthermore, Wear Orange Weekend is June 3-5. Although we are not in school this weekend, SDA hopes you all wear orange and partake in the orange ribbon tying on Friday. Wearing orange demonstrates our collective action in ending the gun violence epidemic, honoring the lives lost to gun violence, and raising awareness about this public health crisis.

Text STUDENTS to 644-33. By texting, you agree to receive communications to your phone number from Everytown organizations. Msg freq varies. STOP to quit. Msg & data rates may apply. This simple text will ensure you're looped in whenever there’s an opportunity to call their lawmaker or sign a petition. Follow @studentsdemandsia on Instagram, to continue to be aware. Educating yourself and others is the first step in advocating and ending the gun violence epidemic.

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Updated: Now in July, we are hearing of the systematic failures that resulted in this horrific act of gun violence. However, I urge all of you to continue to remember the names of those who were murdered on that day in May. Yes, these failures in our system are necessary to note to prevent these heart-wrenching acts from happening, but we have to believe that there will be a day that there is no need for security at every location one goes. The world has to change. No amount of security will provide 100% certainty in preventing these unfathomable acts.