Mark Tyson
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Schools Offer Allegiance to Gun Safety in National Initiative
10/24/2003
Students make a different pledge.
By Tamara Ford, The Herald
YORK -- How easy is it for a child to gain access to a gun?
Some students at York Junior High School were asked Thursday if they were given $100, how many could come back with a gun. About half said they could.
The school was one of many that participated in the eighth annual Day of National Concern and Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.
Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Tommy Pope, Ouida Dest, the assistant solicitor who handles juvenile cases, Mayor Eddie Lee and York Police Chief Bill Mobley spent part of the day educating students on the dangers and consequences of gun violence.
"I see plenty of gun violence where I work," said Pope, telling students a person could spend up to 30 years in prison for crimes involving guns. "Would you want to spend that much time hanging out in jail?"
The event, part of Project CeaseFire under the U.S. Attorney's Office, involved middle and high school students signing a voluntary pledge promising not to take a gun to school and to never resolve a dispute with a gun.
More than 3.1 million students nationwide signed the pledge last year. Approx-imately 146,000 students and 224 schools participated in South Carolina in 2002.
"I don't want anyone to bring a gun to school because they can take my life or someone else's. I don't want that to happen," said York ninth-grader Jon Snipes, one of the local students who signed the pledge.
Other area schools participated
About 250 students at St. Anne Catholic School in Rock Hill signed the gun violence pledge after Jim Grice, the school's resource officer, talked to them about guns and safety concerns.
Indian Land High School Principal Mary Bernsdorff said she made an announcement to the school's 400 students about the seriousness of the pledge, which was signed by everyone.
Students at Sullivan Middle School in Rock Hill did not participate in the pledge. Bob Heath, the school's principal, said he did not want to frighten the students unnecessarily.
"Students at our school don't bring guns to school. Asking children to sign a pledge saying they won't bring guns to school tells them that I think they might do that," Heath said.
This is South Carolina's second year participating in the national event that attracted 327 schools, said Stacey Haynes, an assistant U.S. attorney. The U.S. Attorney's Office hopes to get 190,522 signed pledges.
"We want to encourage our students to tell somebody," Haynes said. "We want to get the message across to the students that they are not being a rat. They are being a hero."
Schools Offer Allegiance to Gun Safety in National Initiative
10/24/2003
Students make a different pledge.
By Tamara Ford, The Herald
YORK -- How easy is it for a child to gain access to a gun?
Some students at York Junior High School were asked Thursday if they were given $100, how many could come back with a gun. About half said they could.
The school was one of many that participated in the eighth annual Day of National Concern and Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.
Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Tommy Pope, Ouida Dest, the assistant solicitor who handles juvenile cases, Mayor Eddie Lee and York Police Chief Bill Mobley spent part of the day educating students on the dangers and consequences of gun violence.
"I see plenty of gun violence where I work," said Pope, telling students a person could spend up to 30 years in prison for crimes involving guns. "Would you want to spend that much time hanging out in jail?"
The event, part of Project CeaseFire under the U.S. Attorney's Office, involved middle and high school students signing a voluntary pledge promising not to take a gun to school and to never resolve a dispute with a gun.
More than 3.1 million students nationwide signed the pledge last year. Approx-imately 146,000 students and 224 schools participated in South Carolina in 2002.
"I don't want anyone to bring a gun to school because they can take my life or someone else's. I don't want that to happen," said York ninth-grader Jon Snipes, one of the local students who signed the pledge.
Other area schools participated
About 250 students at St. Anne Catholic School in Rock Hill signed the gun violence pledge after Jim Grice, the school's resource officer, talked to them about guns and safety concerns.
Indian Land High School Principal Mary Bernsdorff said she made an announcement to the school's 400 students about the seriousness of the pledge, which was signed by everyone.
Students at Sullivan Middle School in Rock Hill did not participate in the pledge. Bob Heath, the school's principal, said he did not want to frighten the students unnecessarily.
"Students at our school don't bring guns to school. Asking children to sign a pledge saying they won't bring guns to school tells them that I think they might do that," Heath said.
This is South Carolina's second year participating in the national event that attracted 327 schools, said Stacey Haynes, an assistant U.S. attorney. The U.S. Attorney's Office hopes to get 190,522 signed pledges.
"We want to encourage our students to tell somebody," Haynes said. "We want to get the message across to the students that they are not being a rat. They are being a hero."
