Again another school shooting. Again students and teachers lost their lives.

I was at a seminar for exchange students when I heard about the tragic shooting in Santa Fe, Texas. Among the victims was a young girl who, just like me, achieved her dream of studying abroad. The Pakistani student, Sabika Sheikh, was here with the “YES” program that provides scholarships for students from countries with significant Muslim populations to promote intercultural understanding. She was supposed to be abroad for ten months and was scheduled to go home on June 9, but now she is gone forever.

I talked with two of my friends who are “YES” students about the tragic shooting, and it turned out that one of the girls had been Sabika’s roommate. She remembered how full of life Sabika had been and how excited she was to be an ambassador for her country. It’s just heartbreaking that this young girl, who was a bridge between people and cultures, had to die so shortly before returning home.

Students should not be afraid of being shot. Exchange students should not be afraid of coming to the United States because of the dangers they might face. An exchange year is an enriching experience, and we should be able to focus on this special time in our lives. And yet, we have to worry. According to a recent CNN report, the Santa Fe incident is the twenty-second school shooting in the U.S. this year: that’s more than one shooting per week.

I remember my mother’s fears a year ago when I got into the CBYX program to study in the U.S. She was worried because the news had reported that a foreign student had been shot in the U.S. The young man had walked onto the wrong property and the owner shot him, believing that he was a thief.

How can school shootings be prevented? Arming teachers is not the solution. I have heard from people who are trained to bear arms and even from teachers themselves that there are too many reasons to not arm teachers. Teachers have way too much to do, and adding the major responsibility of carrying a gun will just lead to more danger. If teachers tried to shoot a perpetrator, kids could be killed in the crossfire. If teachers had guns, the police would have difficulties identifying who the actual shooter is. This “solution” is just an excuse for people to avoid addressing the actual problem.

The Texas Tribune reports that Republican leaders in Texas have blamed the school shootings on unarmed teachers as well as on the lack of mental health services and on unsafe school buildings. Funding mental health services is definitely a good step, but to change the design of schools to avoid shootings seems like the more complicated way to achieve security when the answer is right before our eyes. To implement stricter gun laws would solve the root cause of the problem.  

Family members of victims of school shootings often draw attention to the loose gun laws in the US and how this is a main cause of the tragedy. Sabika’s uncle pledges for stricter gun laws.

“I do ask the American government to make sure weapons will not be easily available in your country to anybody,” said Ansar Sheikh in a BBC article. “Please make sure this doesn’t happen again.” 

I’m glad to live in a state that has relatively stricter gun laws, but I know exchange students who live in Texas as well. I hope for every student who lives in the U.S. that stricter gun laws will be implemented. After all these shootings, something has to be done. People have to open their eyes and see how dangerous the Second Amendment and the “freedom” of owning a gun has become because it should definitely not be more important than the right to live. I hope Sabika Sheikh is not forgotten and that these kids did not die in vain.

Opinion articles written by staff members represent their personal views. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent WSPN as a publication.