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Rep. Merideth to lead press availability
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Students and faculty members from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School will visit the Missouri Capitol Feb. 28 to showcase an art display and speak with lawmakers on gun violence.
Last October, a gunman entered CVPA High and killed one student, Alexzandria Bell, and one teacher, Jean Kuczka, and injured seven others. Matthew Clyde Pace, a government and politics teacher at CVPA, said that while students, faculty and staff adjust back into classrooms, this visit to Missouri’s Capitol is an important part of the healing process.
“Visiting the Capitol offers our students a chance to speak openly and creatively about the trauma of that day and about how our nation’s epidemic of mass shootings and gun violence personally impacted them,” Pace said. “We hope lawmakers from both sides of the aisle take time to hear their stories and respond to their calls to action.”
CVPA High is located within the district of state Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, who helped organize the event.
“Survivors need their voices heard so we can avert these tragedies in the future,” Merideth said. “I cannot emphasize the importance of their stories enough in our discourse here in Jefferson City. I would encourage every single legislator in this building to attend and come to understand that we can and must prevent mass shootings instead of ignoring — or worse, exacerbating — this plague on America’s youth.”
WHO: Students and faculty from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and state Rep. Peter Merideth
WHAT: An art installation and media availability on gun violence and mass shootings
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 28, 9:00 to 11:30 a.m., Press conference to begin at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: The Third Floor Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City, MO
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