Students Tackle Gun Violence in the U.S. During Recent CGL Discussion

On Thursday, Feb. 2, St. Luke’s Upper School students participated in this year’s second CGL discussion, organized by the CGL Student Advisory Board. The topic, chosen in response to student survey results, was gun violence in the United States. 

Gathering in the Seldin Performing Arts Center, students listened as members of the advisory board shared information and statistics about gun rights and ownership in the United States, sentiments on gun regulations, and data on gun violence. The students then broke into their paired advisory groups to discuss what they heard during the assembly. Led by CGL student facilitators, the groups were asked to reflect on topics that included:

I was greatly impressed with the caliber of my ninth grade advisees’ discussion. In fact, they were so deeply engaged in the topic that we ran over time.

The conversations were lively and thoughtful. Several students remarked that they were surprised and happy to see a variety of opinions expressed. Many students shared that they appreciated the opportunity and platform to discuss gun violence and its related issues.

Head of Upper School Liz Perry commented: “When we started CGL conversations in 2017, the goal was to bring students together to practice talking about topics we might otherwise avoid. That's part of how we develop a moral compass in our students. Today, our students practiced using their moral compasses.”