April 19, 2018 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi 235 Cannon Hob, Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Russell Senate Office Building 317 Delaware Ave NE, Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Chuck Schumer 322 Hart Senate Office Bldg, Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Paul Ryan H-32, Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable President Trump 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Trump, Speaker Ryan, Senator Schumer, Senator Peolsi and Senator McConnell, On behalf of 82 student body presidents representing over one million students across the nation, we write to you to respectfully request immediate and lasting reforms to end gun violence in America. Building on the calls to action by a million teachers, students, and citizens on March 24th, when they flooded the streets of more than 800 cities worldwide, we demand your leadership. As students, we should be focused on our academics and preparing for careers. We have seen that the growing prevalence of gun violence, both on and off campus, makes that increasingly difficult and has cut short too many of our classmates’ lives. Moreover, we understand that gun violence has disproportionately impacted communities and students of color throughout our nation’s history.1 In all the tragic forms that it presents itself, gun violence has been a morbidly distracting reality throughout our academic careers. We have had enough. We refuse to allow more violence. This cannot be the norm or the price of being a student in America. Solutions exist and common sense reforms enjoy broad public support across political ideologies. According to a February 20th Quinnipiac Poll, two out of three Americans support simple gun control measures, such as comprehensive background checks and bans on military-style weapons. Recent polling reveals the highest level of national support for reform in the history of polling data.2 A supermajority of campus police chiefs, college administrators and faculty, and college students have favored decreased guns on campuses for years.3 While some people posit that more guns on college campuses and opencarry laws will increase student safety, research by leading policy and public health researchers reveals just the opposite. Research shows “increasing gun availability in campus environments could make far more common acts 1 Singleton, Shermichael. “As America Debates Gun Control, Remember the Black Community.” TheHill, Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., 26 Feb. 2018, thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/375539-as-america-debates-gun-controlremember-the-black-community. 2 Quinnipiac University (2018). QU Poll Release Detail. [online] QU Poll. Available at: https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2521 [Accessed 13 Mar. 2018]. 3 Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. Guns on Campus. October 2017 https://everytownresearch.org/guns-oncampus/#foot_note_17 of aggression, recklessness, or self-harm more deadly and, thus, have a deleterious impact on the safety of students, faculty, and staff.”4 Confidence in a safe learning environment is foundational to our educational experience. The repugnant lack of comprehensive action in preventing the next tragedy is deeply disturbing. We call on our representatives, at both the state and national levels, to pursue practical and consequential measures to put an end to gun violence in America. We maintain faith that you will take seriously the concerns of college and university student leaders who request that you take action to end preventable tragedy. We stand firm in our conviction that enough is enough. We are doing what we can to minimize violence on our campuses and in our communities, but the ultimate responsibility for lasting change is yours. Sincerely, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 4 Sarah Kenny, University of Virginia Student Council President 2017-2018 Alex Cintron, University of Virginia Student Council President 2018-2019 Mike Kenyanya, University of Minnesota Duluth Student Body President Molly Gallagher, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Student Body President Bashir Emlemdi, University of Cincinnati Undergraduate Student Body President Adebimpe Elegbeleye, Rutgers-University Student Body President Myesha Jemison, Princeton University Emeritus Undergraduate Student Body President Katrina Morrison, University of Wisconsin - Madison Student Body President Rachel McCulley, Fontbonne University Student Government Association President Dhruv Sitapara, Drury University Student Government Association President Margaret Scanlon and Donald Stephens, College of the Holy Cross SGA Co-Presidents Luke Charles Frigon, Gettysburg College Student Body President Vito Van Dunk, The College of Saint Rose Student Association President Katie Lightcap, Pacific University Undergraduate Student Senate President Zaynab Abdulqadir-Morris, UC Berkeley’s Associated Students of the University of California President Amanda Díaz, University of Puget Sound, Student Body President Miles Payne, Eastern Michigan University, Student Body President Trish Palermo, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Student Body President Kameron Dunbar, Oberlin College, Student Senate Chair Sean Burkett, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Student Body President Irma Valverde, University of Connecticut, Student Body President Morgan Smith, University of Denver, Student Body President Kayla McLoughlin, Methodist University, Student Body President Jewel Hurt, James Madison University, Student Body President Kelly Peng, Scripps College, Student Body President Francesca Galbato, Loyola University Maryland Lauren Michelle Johnson LSU Board of Supervisors and LSU Eunice Student Body President Raven Brunner- Pennsylvania State University New Kensington, Student Government Association President Justin Onwenu, Rice University, Student Body President Andrew Uhring, Association of Big Ten Students, Public Relations Director Monica Mohanty, Wesleyan College, Student Government Association President Mitchell Rosenberg, President, Chapman University Student Government Association Osvaldo Flores, Berea College Student Body President Hilary Vo, Pacific Lutheran University Associated Student Body President Rex Willis, Virginia Tech Student Body President John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Daniel W. Webster et. all. Firearms on College Campuses: Research Evidence and Policy Implications. October 2016. https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-policy-andresearch/_pdfs/GunsOnCampus.pdf 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. Max Kneis, University of Pittsburgh, Student Government Board President Emily Kuester, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Student Association President SaraAnn Kurkul, Boston University, Student Body President Ivy Petsinger, Case Western Reserve University Student Body President Janice Hind, Lesley University Undergraduate Student Government President Suchira Sharma, Northeastern University Student Body President Benjamin Reimler, Winona State University Student Body President Angela Beam, Barnard College Student Government Association President Jason Gorelick, Sonoma State University Associated Students Senate Chair Julia Horowitz, Connecticut College Student Government President Christa Bennett, Champlain College Student Government Association President Sara Antony, Hamline University Undergraduate Student Body President Eshfaq Ullah, Bemidji State University Student Body President Morgan Peters, Illinois Institute of Technology Student Government Association President Payton Robinson, Moorpark College Associated Student Body President Nancy Yuan, Swarthmore College, Student Government Organization President Maxine Jimenez, University of California, Santa Cruz, Student Union Assembly President Drew Rogers, University of Missouri-Kansas CIty, Student Government Association President Samantha Quiambao, California State University, East Bay, Associated Students Inc. President/CEO Jonathan O’Dea, Anne Arundel Community College, Student Government Association Kiley Varney, Bethel College, Student Body President Cearrah L. Sherman, Salisbury University, Student Government Association President Taylor Wright, University of South Carolina, Student Body President James Rossano, Student Government Association President, Lasell College Samantha Herskowitz- Adelphi University, Student Government Association President Sarah Karwowski, University of Mary Washington, Student Government Association President Spencer Schiller, Wake Forest University, Student Body President Rachel Emond, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Student Government Association President Christopher Petrillo, University Of Vermont Darylann Aragon, University of Denver, Student Body Vice President Kendric D. Jones, Prairie View A&M University, Student Government Association President Courtney Brandon, Middle Tennessee State University, Student Government Association President Riyanka Ganguly, Duke University, Duke Student Government President Ramiro Málaga Ortega, Stony Brook University, Graduate Student Organization President Laila Dadabhoy, California State University, Fullerton, Associated Students, Incorporated President/CEO Cody Heaton, Pennsylvania State University, Student Body President Courtney Zambon, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, Student Government Association President Andrew Oppong, Calvin College, Student Body President Jacob Simpson, President, University of Iowa Student Government Cara Gibbons, Fairfield University Student Body President Camille Gladieux, Mount Holyoke College, Student Government Association President Alex Lopez, Nova Southeastern University, President of Nova Southeastern Undergraduate Student Government Association (NSUSGA) Rex Willis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Student Government Association President 2017-2018 Billie Golan, senator, SUNY New Paltz 65th Student Association Senate Sophia Adams, Saint Michael’s College, Student Association President Jermel McClure, Jr. Binghamton University, Student Association President & CEO Lorenzo Santavicca, Michigan State University Student Body President