For three weeks some of the loudest voices we have heard on the issue of guns in schools have come from those who spend most of their time in school, students.
Three sophomores from Mounds View High School made a documentary for a CSPAN competition that won an honorable mention about guns and specifically how the Second Amendment relates to them.
We spoke to them not to argue the finer points of what the authors of that amendment meant way back then but about why they chose to make the film about that amendment and what the larger issue of guns in schools is like for them as students.
Diana Zhu, Michelle Sung and Aarthi Vijayakumar are the creators and their film is titled, ‘America's Epidemic’.
“We chose to talk about the Second Amendment and basically the different takes on it (to) just kind of talk about different views people have and how it affects us,” Zhu said.
It was a bold choice, but one they said was necessary as that amendment is in the eye of the debate over the issue that is too often turning high school hallways, into crime scenes.
“We decided to focus on this because as high school students we feel that neither we nor any other student should feel endangered by guns or feel that a shooter could walk into the building at any time,” Vijayakumar said.
Unlike too many adults this team had to understand the rules of making the film. a side wasn't to be taken and all sides were to be presented.
“I think it's crucial to cover every viewpoint and with our project we really tried to do that with the NRA and also folks who felt strongly about gun control policy,” Zhu said.