How many lives must be lost? How many bullets must be fired before enough is enough? 

This is the cry of a generation — one that has been raised in a culture where gun violence is accepted into our nation’s reality. 

In the last few weeks, incidences of gun violence have filled the pages of many newspapers. 

On March 30, an 18-year-old high school student visiting Forsyth Tech’s campus fired a singular bullet into his hand. This event occurred just days after a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead.

News of the shooting spread rapidly. As it reached Wake Forest, a sense of confusion, anxiety and dread settled onto campus as rumors circulated of an active gunman just six miles away. 

This incident of gun violence is only the latest to make headlines in Winston-Salem. In September 2021, a Mt. Tabor High School student was shot and killed at school. The effects of his death rippled across campus and the larger Winston-Salem community. 

Similarly, this incident of gun violence is only the latest to take place on a college campus. This is the third editorial the Old Gold & Black has published in the last calendar year addressing gun violence on university campuses, with the others addressing shootings at UVA and MSU. Thankfully, no fatalities were recorded at Forsyth Tech, but for hours last Thursday, parents were not sure of that fact; we were not sure of that fact. The Old Gold & Black believes that on any campus, the question of whether a student has died by a gunshot wound should never have to be asked. 

This was not even the only incident related to guns last week. On March 26, the threat of gun violence rattled North Carolina A&T’s campus when a man was arrested for possession of numerous weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. On April 4, a man was injured after an unholstered gun went off on the campus of Daytona State College in Florida.

The Old Gold & Black would like to use this space to address the issue of gun violence. The current reality — in which an 18-year-old can easily obtain a firearm, in which school shootings have become commonplace, in which safety is a privilege more than it is a right — is neither sustainable nor acceptable. 

Safety must be prioritized — both by legislative reform and comprehensive mental health support. The lives of children and of students are of the utmost importance to protect.  Legislation that perpetuates a culture of gun violence, such as Senate Bill 41 recently passed in North Carolina, which eliminated required background checks for handguns, cannot continue. 

We stand in solidarity with the students affected by the Forsyth Tech shooting, the shooting in Nashville, the shooting in Daytona Beach and the incident at North Carolina A&T, and we offer our condolences to those affected everywhere by gun violence.

For those who have the power to shape laws in this state and this country, we now beg you to do everything in your power so that we don’t have to write another editorial on this topic.