The Inquirer

Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Adalto Nascimento Protestors from the Brady Campaign lie down at the DVC main Quad for the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.

Dozens of students were drawn to the Quad on Wednesday to watch a "lie-in" to mark the one-year anniversary of the April 16 Virginia Tech shootings and to create a dialogue on gun violence in America.

Seven people dressed all in black lay down for three minutes.

The event was organized by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and sponsored by the Associated Students of DVC.

"It is time to stop blaming schools and law enforcement for not preventing these senseless acts," said Karen Arntzen, California chapter services coordinator of the Brady Campaign, during the protest. "We need stricter gun laws regulating the easy access to guns and ammunition in this country."

Thirty-two people died at Virginia Tech as a result of a lone gunman's rampage. Thirty-two people are killed by guns every day, according to Brady organizers.

The Brady Campaign held similar protests in over 70 other locations across America, including College of San Mateo and Laney College in Oakland.

Matt Pellouchoud, who watched the event said, "This is a responsibility that parents don't get involved in. I feel that family values and traditions have really just gone downhill."

In an e-mail interview prior to the lie-in, Arntzen said, "We need students to get involved in protecting their campuses from gun violence. Teachers and students have a right to a safe working environment."

During an April 1 meeting of the ASDVC, President Steven Lam made the motion to sponsor the protest in order to make international students more aware of the issue of gun violence. The motion passed unopposed.

"We want DVC students to be aware that gun violence is pretty serious in America," he said. "Many international students don't have [knowledge of] serious gun violence problems."

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