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Friday, March 29, 2024

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, speak at Harvard on March 20. (Image: Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics via YouTube)

Youth from area high schools and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, are set to take part in a Cambridge Public Library “Youth Panel on Gun Violence” on May 29. There will be a panel discussion, followed by a Q&A.

The panel will also feature students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida – the school affected by the Feb. 14th mass shooting, where 17 people died – who volunteered their time to take part in the panel while on a school trip with their English teacher, according to event organizers.

It will be the second visit to the area by a Parkland group; students from the school visited Harvard for a March 20 discussion.

“It is our privilege to host these passionate student leaders,” libraries director Maria McCauley said. “I believe these students will educate and inspire youth and adults in our community. Their voices will be heard on a topic in which discussion is very much needed.”

Panelists include teens from Cambridge Ridge and Latin School, Somerville High School and the Cambridge Community Charter School. The moderator will be Tony Clark, former educational policy adviser in the Mayor’s Office and current associate professor at Bunker Hill Community College.

The event is in partnership with the Office of Mayor Marc McGovern and Cambridge Youth Programs, and opening remarks will be given by  McGovern.

“It is vital that our community comes together to discuss the epidemic spread of gun violence in this nation and in our schools, and as our student activists have so powerfully and effectively reminded us, their voice is critical in that conversation,” McGovern said. “Our student leaders continue to inspire change and demand accountability from their policymakers, ensuring that we never lose sight of our responsibility to their, and future generations.”

The “Youth Panel on Gun Violence” will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 29 in the lecture hall of the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Doors open at 6 p.m.; seating will be limited. For information or updates, visit cambridgepubliclibrary.org.


This post took significant amounts of material from a press release.