March for Our Opinions

Story/Video posted April 2, 2018 in News by Brad Wakai and Michele Brisco

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Freshman Justin Ellis (IST major) attended the March for Our Lives event, but it wasn’t to join in. Instead, Ellis wanted to be an opposing voice.

“It seems like everyone is in agreement on what to do, and I just want to be a voice that says, ‘Hey, maybe not everyone agrees,’” Ellis said. “Maybe some people disagree with what’s [being said], or have different ways to implement solutions that could reach the same results.”

Ellis stood on the left side of Old Main, holding a poster that read, “I Prefer Dangerous Freedom Over Peaceful Slavery,” a quote by Thomas Jefferson.

Even though Ellis didn’t march with everyone else, he still agreed that the government could do better.

“I think the way background checks work now is flawed by nature,” Ellis said. “Without information in the system, background checks just don’t work.”

In terms of school safety, Ellis believes security guards and metal detectors are effective ways to protect those in high school and middle school.

“There have been arguments [that] it’s some sort of violation of rights, but I don’t see that,” Ellis said. “In high school, I saw [metal detectors and security guards] as protection. It was kind of like ‘I’m going to the airport, and they’re keeping me safe.”

(Video reporting by Brad Wakai, edited by Michele Brisco)