Group Of Local Students Talk Gun Control

Local teen group SPICE held its biggestmeetingMonday night that addressed gun control in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting. Photo provided by Eve Krief

By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Students within the Town of Huntington are taking a stand and speaking out for their safety in the wake of the Florida school shooting.

Non-partisan group SPICE, which stands for Student Promoting Inclusive Civic Engagement, hosted a meeting Monday night at Huntington Public Library that drew the group’s biggest crowd yet.

Around 150 high school students attended from school districts across town, including Cold Spring Harbor, Northport, Harborfields and Huntington.

Darryl St. George, mentor of SPICE and a social studies teacher at Northport High School, said the purpose of the meeting was to create a space where students can come together and express themselves to the public.

“One of the things that I think we’re witnessing with what’s occurred in Florida is the power of the youth,” he said. “I think that’s kind of the silver lining here in this horrible tragedy is that young people are stepping up and they’re getting involved.”

The meeting saw a lively discussion among students that delved into several topics, including gun control, mental health and school safety, with varying views on those topics.

“The point that we all could agree on, and I think that was really emphasized throughout the night, is that we all don’t want to see another Parkland, Columbine or Newtown shooting,” St. George said. “If we all agree on that, which of course we do, then we can build on that, find ways to compromise and come up with common sense solutions to this very real and tragic problem.”

Zoe Kries, an executive board member of SPICE and a sophomore at Harborfields High School, said she was pleased with the turnout at the meeting.

“I hope they took away that people can contribute to helping fight this cause of gun control and making sure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Kries, 15, of Centerport, said. “They can do something about this, even if we’re from a small town in Huntington.”

Kries said she’d like to see more done to prevent future mass shootings.

“It obviously can’t happen again,” Kries said. “This shouldn’t have to happen so many times for something to be done about it. It should be done now.”

St. George said he’s hopeful the meeting will show kids that their voices matter.

He wants to see more “kids getting involved in the political process, addressing these types of issues.

“My greatest hope is that these kids realize how powerful they are and they can make a difference.”