PHOTO STORY: Students protest for gun reform

“It didn’t bring resolution or any sort of conclusion, but it helped me move past that stage of feeling helpless,” said freshman Kara Munz.

Belmont University freshman Kara Munz organized a student protest against gun violence Wednesday morning. The protest started at the corner of Wedgewood and 12th Avenue and ended on 15th in front of the Johnson Center. About 50 students marched.

The protest was in response to the elementary school shooting at the Covenant School in Green Hills on Monday, three miles from Belmont’s campus.

“I was in my dorm room and I felt helpless, and useless, and very much alone,” said Munz. “I thought that we should be able to gather and use our voice to enact change.”

Chanting and linked in unison, the protestors wore red and carried signs that called for tighter gun control and the protection of children.

“By doing this, we can set an example for other people to do the same,” said Caroline Smith.

“I think there’s so much noise all the time, and it’s really easy to drown in it, and start to not feel anything when you hear those things, and that’s not okay,” said freshman Gracie Rodes. “We need to all feel it together and grieve together and get angry and have feelings.”

“Although it is a very complex issue, it’s better to do something than to do nothing at all,” said Caroline Smith. “There’s only so much we can do on an individual level, but it’s better to do something than to be stagnant.”

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Photos by Kyle Patton/Belmont Vision and Ben Burton/Belmont Vision. Context written by Katie Beth Cannon.