One club at Lewis has been actively campaigning in advance of the 2024 election.
Students Demand Action is a club that strives to educate students about gun violence prevention and examine how it affects high school and college students across the US.
Students Demand Action’s Lewis chapter was started by seniors Daniel Gonzales and Madison McLaughlin after Gonzales met with leaders of Students Demand Action and Moms Demand Action during Vice President and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s visit to Lewis on June 2, 2023.
“They gave me information about starting a Students Demand Action chapter at Lewis. I’ve always been passionate about [reducing gun violence], and I thought it was cool to have support from the organization,” Gonzales said.
Lewis’ chapter of Students Demand Action is sponsored by IB Anthropology/World History 1 & 2 teacher Holly Miller. Miller was immediately on board after Gonzales asked her to be the sponsor for Students Demand Action.
“It’s something that I’ve been involved with before, like Moms Demand Action. It’s definitely a cause I feel very passionate about, so I was very happy to help sponsor,” Miller said.
Students Demand Action officially kickstarted during a very important year for the country: the 2024 election year. To link the club’s overall mission with the election, Students Demand Action has prioritized getting gun-sense candidates elected into political federal, state, and local offices.
“Ever since we started this club, our meetings have been about electing gun-sense candidates like Kamala Harris, Gerry Connolly, and Tim Kaine so they can help support our overall mission,” Gonzales said.
Students Demand Action has hosted meetings after school, where members wrote postcards and phoned voters in swing states to encourage them to vote for gun-sense candidates.
Outside of school, Students Demand Action has canvassed with Moms Demand Action in the Burke area to encourage voter turnout for candidates committed to ending gun violence. Virginia’s 11th Congressional District U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly tagged along in the canvassing efforts as well.
Miller praises Students Demand Action’s involvement during the 2024 election.
“I love how proactive [student members] have been. The fact that [they’ve] canvassed, phone banked, and written postcards, it’s just so cool to see,” Miller said.
Miller further commented that she enjoyed seeing students play a role in the political process. “I’m glad that [students] are taking action as these are skills [they’re] building to use in [their] futures to be involved and make a change,” Miller said.
Gonzales hopes that Students Demand Action’s election efforts have made an impact on eligible voters who have not yet voted.
“I hope we’re inspiring people to get out there and vote because of our mission. Every call that we make, we tell them a little bit about the organization and everything that we do. We’re spreading our mission of preventing gun violence, so I’m hoping that people will see how it affects teens, and vote for someone who will help our cause and make this country safer,” Gonzales said.
Reflecting on the efforts Students Demand Action has done, Gonzales sees the impact the club is making, encouraging more students to get involved and advocate for their beliefs.
“Getting involved in their communities, whether it’s canvassing, tabling at events, calling people or talking to their friends and family, those are ways to spread awareness about issues you care about. I think people start to care once they realize how it affects them or others after being aware about the issues you have concerns with,” Gonzales said.
Even after the election, Students Demand Action will continue its mission in gun-violence prevention through bi-weekly Thursday meetings after school, where they hope to inspire students to be civically engaged in their community.
In the meantime, Students Demand Action’s eyes are focused on this historic election.
