Students Demand Action (SDA), a new club to Creek, held its first meeting Wednesday. Founded by junior Nandita Nair and sophomores Kimaya Kini and Agnes Holena, the club aims to open up an opportunity for all students, no matter their political ideals, to participate in a discussion about gun violence and safety.

“I think Creek SDA needs to broaden this discussion [about gun control]. We are not taking a political stance, but we need to open this discussion and learn how we can exist in a world with guns and feel safe at school and home,” Kini said. “Creek brings in everyone, [from those who believe in] no gun control to a complete ban, but if we can find a way to bring these opposite sides to have a safe space to educate themselves and understand the other side, we can start making a difference, especially as we begin to become adults.”

Students Demand Action is a nationwide organization that provides highschool students across the country with the resources they need to learn more about gun control and allows students to form their own SDA clubs at their school. To begin the club at Creek, the founders reinstated an inactive club, Students Against Gun Violence, and worked with the SDA to certify the club.

Holena, who became interested in founding an SDA club after hearing members of the organization speak to members of the student senate, believes that having a club where people can communicate about gun issues will lead to a more positive school environment.

“When the SDA presented their goals and mission to our student senate class I was immediately interested,” Holena said. “As soon as I heard the numbers and the facts around gun violence in America, it was obvious to me that conversations around gun violence needed to be surfaced and action needed to be taken.”

Nair recalled her experience with gun violence at the meeting, explaining how it impacted her stance on gun control. “About five years ago there was a shooting in my neighborhood and it definitely affected me. You never realize what it is like till it happens to you, and the shooting made me gain a new perspective on life and how it can be taken away in just a moment,” she said.

In January alone, there have been a total of nearly 40 mass shootings with nearly 70 deaths, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Following the shooting in Monterey Park, California, which resulted in 11 deaths, the founders of the club felt even more like they had to speak out against gun violence at Creek. 

“It breaks my heart to see those victims, [knowing that they were] a friend, a classmate, a student, a sibling, a child, [or] a parent, who woke up that morning with no reason to worry, and by the end of the day they were gone because of something that could have been stopped,” Kini said.

As the club grows in attendance, the founders hope to gain access to guest speakers and volunteer opportunities to spread more awareness about gun violence and control. By sharing more information about the repercussions of gun violence and explaining how to safely keep a gun, they hope that Creek will feel like a safer place to be. 

“You never know when you’re going to be in King Soopers at the wrong time, or someone comes into your school, and it’s terrifying to constantly wonder what if we are next, and it’s horrible that we have to,” Kini said.