BSU Students Reflect on Gun Violence

By Justin Andoll

Spectrum Staff Writer

 According to annual gun fatality data provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), every day in the United States, 310 people are shot. Among those 310, roughly 100 people are killed and the remaining 210 survive gun related injuries.

Gun violence is a widespread issue that cannot be overlooked in 2019. Gun violence has been a focal point in lawmaking, the upcoming election, and generally in the concerns in everyday people.

Homicide rates by guns are nationally found higher within African Americans than any other ethnic group in America. Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine measures drastic differences in how racial groups experiences gun violence. The research stated that 57% of black adults say they knew someone who had been shot.

So, how many people at an HBCU, a place with mostly all black adults, know someone who is or was a victim of gun violence?

On Nov. 4 students at Bowie State University were given the opportunity by Counseling Services to reflect and bring awareness to gun violence. Students were given the option to write the name of someone they lost due to gun violence on a mural. The large number of names all placed on the poster gave an idea of how many people lost someone due to gun violence. This gave a picture of togetherness as all the small murals created a bigger picture.

Students could also join the counseling services in planting flowers or beans in memory of someone lost. This gave the opportunity to create life inspired by a loss and to bring positivity to a negative situation.