Congratulations to the following 29 students of Ms. Rebecca Sims’s 11th & 12th grade English classes at Highland Home School, who are featured online in the Stage of Life® January 2013 essay contest that asked, "Where do we go after the Newtown school shooting?" 7,525 teens and college students from across the US (all 50 states) entered the contest to voice their opinions about gun rights, gun control, mental health, media influence on violence, school security. Stage of Life® is an award-winning, international, educationally based blogging community of people ranging from teens to Baby Boomers who want to help make the world a better place through writing. Please join us in celebrating our HHS winners, who placed in the top 200 of their writing categories! Their names and essays are listed below; please be encouraged to visit the website and read some of their thoughts!
- Essays Calling for No Policy Change
- 1 Jerika Shepherd -- Guns in Evil Hands (Pray for the families hurt by this tragedy)
- Essays about Media Influence (TV, Video Games, Movies, etc.)
- 1 Jade Stovall -- Gun Control and the Conflicts (Teens should stop listening to violent music and playing violent games)
- 2 John Dunn -- Guns don’t kill people, people kill people(Violent video games make you feel a part of the violence)
- Essays about Gun Rights/Protection
- 1 Stacee Edwards -- The shooting was a tragedy, but it’s not the guns it’s the people (Guns should not be banned)
- 2 Jenna Dorman -- Our Rights (We should keep the right to bear arms)
- 3 Catyln Mann -- Reason is Protection (There should be a limited number of guns per household)
- Essays About School Security
- 21 Brandy Cauthen -- Gun Control (Armed officers should stand at every entrance to every school)
- 24 Sarah Wood -- The Gun does not Control the Shooter (Students should have an anonymous way to report suspicious activity)
- 27 Abby Stephenson -- Look Behind the Trigger (She highly doubts gun control will work)
- 32 Shannon Taylor -- No it is not because of a gun; it is the psychotic person (Schools should have stronger security)
- 37 Jordan Roll -- Guns don’t kill, people do (Students should be searched upon entering school)
- Essays about Gun Control
- 87 Brianna Hebert -- Limitations of Gun Control (People shouldn’t be able to handle guns before they are 21)
- 91 Austin Norris -- Gun Control (Bad background checks mean that people shouldn’t get guns)
- 92 Maitlyn Barton -- Guns do not fire without a person behind it (This teen suggests limitations to gun ownership)
- 96 Wesley Allen -- Guns are not Evil (Guns should not be permitted in public places)
- 97 Anqunese Bennett -- What’s new to gun laws (Assault weapons belong on the battlefield)
- 99 Jenice Foster -- The Shooting (Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have guns)
- 101 Jessica Sexton -- Guns should be restrained, not detained(“Americans have taken the inch given to them with the second amendment and ran for miles with it”)
- 103 Jonah Vitollo -- How many massacres does it take? (There have been too many shootings in the US)
- 105 Brittany Hurley -- Guns are not evil, people are (Not all guns should be restricted, but some should)
- 111 Shutarra Williams -- We shouldn’t kill (Only cops should carry guns)
- 112 Sara Killough -- People are evil, guns are not (There’s not much we can do besides enact laws to try to prevent violence)
- 113 Randale Harris -- Another tragedy that will never be forgotten (“Get right with God, because you don’t know when your time is coming”)
- 114 Colby Searight -- Limitations on Firearms for the Tragedy in Newtown (Guns are problematic machines)
- 117 Madison Lancer -- Not the guns, the people (People must better understand guns)
- 122 David Rogers -- And the key to preventing it (Stricter gun laws and more security in schools)
- 123 Courtney Chandler -- Gun Control (Teachers should have guns in their desks)
- 124 Gabby Lee -- Guns don’t kill people (Guns may make you feel safe, but they can also do a lot of harm)
- 125 Cassidy Balkcom -- A Tragedy (Military style weapons should be restricted)
