Exeter Hosts Town Forum On Firearms

Students and faculty from Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter High School (EHS) and Cooperative Middle School (CMS) hosted the “Student Forum on Gun Violence” in the Exeter Town Hall last Friday night. The forum’s aim was to increase awareness of gun violence and related issues, including mental health and gun control.

The panel, which consisted of students, teachers and public officials, was moderated by English Instructor Courtney Marshall and addressed both scripted questions and the audience’s inquiries. Exeter Rises, a progressive Democratic group dedicated to promoting dialogue and change about issues in New Hampshire, initiated the planning for the forum.

“I think the forum was a success. The students were all well-prepared and engaged the audience. They touched on important topics while addressing a standing-room only crowd,” Reyes said.

Exeter’s Director of Service Learning Elizabeth Reyes invited Exonians who attended the Portsmouth March for Our Lives event to meet with the group and other students, teachers, community members and legislators to finalize the panelists and schedule.

At the forum, elected officials Rep. Debra Altschiller, Executive Councilor Chris Pappas, Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, Rep. Patrick Abrami, Rep. Richard Gordon and Rep. Ellen Read joined upper Jordan Davidson and lower Kileidria Aguilar on the panel, along with other students from EHS and CMS. Instructor at EHS Dennis Magliozzi and New Hampshire Medical Society President Leonard Korn also participated. Although there were only 13 panelists, in addition to Marshall as the moderator, many more students, teachers, residents and officials attended the forum.

Student participants hoped to push officials to take specific action to reduce gun violence on a local, state and national level. For students like senior Greg Miller, who lives just six miles away from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this event was an opportunity to share student perspectives about gun violence. “ I hope [the forum] will bring light and human voice to needed gun laws,” Miller said.

Marshall also hoped that the students’ stories would offer the public officials insight on the gun violence discussion and connect local perspectives to those of PEA students who live outside of New Hampshire. As an English instructor, Marshall was particularly intrigued by how students would combine facts with their narratives. “How were they going to use the power of their voice to tell a story about what it’s like to be their age?” she questioned.

Panelists—Republicans, Democrats, students, teachers and civilians alike– discussed various topics concerning gun violence like mental health, the effects of racism and the effectiveness of current New Hampshire legislation surrounding gun control.

Davidson focused on the mental health aspects of gun violence including the role of counseling at school, suicides involving guns and the lack of evidence suggesting that video games increase gun violence. Like other students on the panel, Davidson advocated primarily for stricter gun control laws, including those that ban assault rifles.

On the other hand, Aguilar addressed the lack of diversity at the forum and in gun control conversations, noting that she and Marshall were the only people of color sitting on the panel. However, she encouraged people of all identities to work together to push for gun control reform.

“A bullet can go through anyone, no matter what color you are,” Aguilar said. “There is a lot of white privilege here. As far as I’m concerned, the Black Lives Matter movement was about gun reform. I am trying to make this issue intersectional, but I have to acknowledge that I need to ask for white allies. I am asking every white person here to stand up for people of color who need you.”       

Although there was  disagreement between the panelists about the best course of action in addressing gun violence, both Aguilar and Davidson thought the event was successful in starting conversations.

“Even though I disagreed with what some of the Republican legislators had to say, I thought it was really great that we had a good diversity of opinion and we covered a lot of topics,” Davidson said.

Aguilar felt that the diversity at the forum could have been improved, but she was glad that the forum initiated conversation. Part of the reason why she is a student activist and pushing for gun reform is her wish to honor and protect her family. “I am a student activist so that my brother doesn’t have to grow up in a place where he can get shot down and I also want to acknowledge my stepfather and the struggles he’s been through as a black man,” Aguilar said.

Similarly, Davidson is a student activist because he wants to ensure that his personal and national concerns are being addressed. “I am appalled and emotionally distraught at what has been going on in our country,” he said. “Not only with the shootings, but how people who claim to represent us aren’t really doing anything. And if they say they are, they aren’t doing it very well.”

Lowers James Long and David Gonzalez also thought the forum was successful in representing the diversity of views and topics. However, they believed that the communication between panelists and the audience could have been improved.

“I like how the panel was well represented in both conservative and liberal views. I like that they were able to include both state legislators in addition to prominent students of this community,” Long said. “I wish that there had been a better way for people to get their questions asked but other than that I think it was a great way to start a discussion.”

Long had also hoped that panelists would have clarified some of the points brought up throughout the discussion to improve the flow of conversation.  “I wish that the panel would have addressed the difference between semi-automatic sporting rifles such as AR-15s and the issue of high-capacity magazines that enable them to be such dangerous weapons,” Long explained. “I also wish there had been a bit more statistics about guns instead of using general statements.”

Reyes and Marshall commended the students for their work and celebrated the forum’s success. Both PEA faculty members believe that this event was just the start of many more conversations and actions to come. They hope that future forums will be held for topics besides gun violence.

“I think the forum was a success. The students were all well-prepared and engaged the audience. They touched on important topics while addressing a standing-room only crowd,” Reyes said. According to her, the PEA students have invited the EHS and CMS students to a meeting to continue the conversation around next steps. “This could be the start of a wonderful collaboration between all students in the Exeter area no matter what school they are coming from,” Reyes said. 

Even after the forum ended, people continued to discuss and connect over topics not only about gun violence. According to Marshall, two EHS instructors who were interested in the racial politics of gun violence talked to her and invited her to talk to a group of EHS students that were concerned with white supremacy and whiteness. “I really hope that there are more opportunities for schools to come together maybe around different topics in addition to gun violence, but other things that might be important to what it is like to be a teenager in the town of Exeter,” Marshall said.

Ultimately, many felt that the forum successfully connected people from different backgrounds over gun violence.

Many Exonians, including Miller, Davidson, Aguilar, Long and Gonzalez, plan on attending the nationwide school walkout this Friday, April 20th to advocate for gun reform as well as honor the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. Organized by seniors Auden Barbour and Daisy Tichenor, the walkout will begin at 11:15 a.m. with three rings from the bell as a reminder.

Students participating in the walkout are encouraged to congregate at the front steps of the Academy Building by 11:19 a.m., the start time of the Columbine shooting, for several speeches by both students and guests, a musical performance and a moment of silence. Aguilar will be giving a speech about gun violence, and will tie in the role of race and diversity. Tichenor and Barbour hope that students, faculty and staff “will sacrifice a short amount of class time in order to stand in solidarity against gun violence and demand change.”

For Tichenor, this walkout is about standing up for what she believes in and connecting with schools across the country on a national level. “Exeter isn’t part of a vacuum; it is part of America,” Tichenor said.

Some Exonians will have the chance to present their views by voting in the midterm elections this November. Although the majority of Exonians will be under 18, they can also communicate directly with their representatives. As Tichenor said, “Go to the gun forum. Call your politicians. Call your Exeter politicians. Call your politicians from your hometown.”

Other students plan to continue their activism against gun violence through other mediums. Davidson plans to work in theater. “I am involved in Unsilenced, a performance run by [upper] Jacob Hunter and [lower] Tatum Schutt that is going to be about guns. I am going to be presenting a piece about gun violence and the performance will be open to the whole school,” Davidson said.

As Exonians participate in student forums, walkouts or performances to voice their concerns, the message and relevance of the growing activism against gun violence has become clear. As Aguilar said after the forum ended, “It’s about our nation and our country, and it’s about making the world a safer place.”