April 19, 2018

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Mitch McConnell

235 Cannon Hob, Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 317 Delaware Ave NE,
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Chuck Schumer The Honorable Paul Ryan

322 Hart Senate Office Bldg, H-32,
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable President Trump

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump, Speaker Ryan, Senator Schumer, Senator Peolsi and Senator McConnell,

On behalf of 82 student body presidents representing over one million students across the nation, we write to you to
respectfully request immediate and lasting reforms to end gun violence in America. Building on the calls to action
by a million teachers, students, and citizens on March 24th, when they flooded the streets of more than 800 cities
worldwide, we demand your leadership.

As students, we should be focused on our academics and preparing for careers. We have seen that the growing
prevalence of gun violence, both on and off campus, makes that increasingly difficult and has cut short too many of
our classmates’ lives. Moreover, we understand that gun violence has disproportionately impacted communities and
students of color throughout our nation’s history.1 In all the tragic forms that it presents itself, gun violence has been
a morbidly distracting reality throughout our academic careers. We have had enough. We refuse to allow more
violence. This cannot be the norm or the price of being a student in America.

Solutions exist and common sense reforms enjoy broad public support across political ideologies. According to a
February 20th Quinnipiac Poll, two out of three Americans support simple gun control measures, such as
comprehensive background checks and bans on military-style weapons. Recent polling reveals the highest level of
national support for reform in the history of polling data.2

A supermajority of campus police chiefs, college administrators and faculty, and college students have favored
decreased guns on campuses for years.3 While some people posit that more guns on college campuses and open-
carry laws will increase student safety, research by leading policy and public health researchers reveals just the
opposite. Research shows “increasing gun availability in campus environments could make far more common acts

1
Singleton, Shermichael. “As America Debates Gun Control, Remember the Black Community.” TheHill, Capitol
Hill Publishing Corp., 26 Feb. 2018, thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/375539-as-america-debates-gun-control-
remember-the-black-community.
2
Quinnipiac University (2018). QU Poll Release Detail. [online] QU Poll. Available at:
https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2521 [Accessed 13 Mar. 2018].
3
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. Guns on Campus. October 2017 https://everytownresearch.org/guns-on-
campus/#foot_note_17
of aggression, recklessness, or self-harm more deadly and, thus, have a deleterious impact on the safety of students,
faculty, and staff.”4 Confidence in a safe learning environment is foundational to our educational experience.

The repugnant lack of comprehensive action in preventing the next tragedy is deeply disturbing. We call on our
representatives, at both the state and national levels, to pursue practical and consequential measures to put an end to
gun violence in America. We maintain faith that you will take seriously the concerns of college and university
student leaders who request that you take action to end preventable tragedy. We stand firm in our conviction that
enough is enough. We are doing what we can to minimize violence on our campuses and in our communities, but
the ultimate responsibility for lasting change is yours.

Sincerely,

1. Sarah Kenny, University of Virginia Student Council President 2017-2018

2. Alex Cintron, University of Virginia Student Council President 2018-2019
3. Mike Kenyanya, University of Minnesota Duluth Student Body President
4. Molly Gallagher, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Student Body President
5. Bashir Emlemdi, University of Cincinnati Undergraduate Student Body President
6. Adebimpe Elegbeleye, Rutgers-University Student Body President
7. Myesha Jemison, Princeton University Emeritus Undergraduate Student Body President
8. Katrina Morrison, University of Wisconsin - Madison Student Body President
9. Rachel McCulley, Fontbonne University Student Government Association President
10. Dhruv Sitapara, Drury University Student Government Association President
11. Margaret Scanlon and Donald Stephens, College of the Holy Cross SGA Co-Presidents
12. Luke Charles Frigon, Gettysburg College Student Body President
13. Vito Van Dunk, The College of Saint Rose Student Association President
14. Katie Lightcap, Pacific University Undergraduate Student Senate President
15. Zaynab Abdulqadir-Morris, UC Berkeley’s Associated Students of the University of California President
16. Amanda Díaz, University of Puget Sound, Student Body President
17. Miles Payne, Eastern Michigan University, Student Body President
18. Trish Palermo, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Student Body President
19. Kameron Dunbar, Oberlin College, Student Senate Chair
20. Sean Burkett, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Student Body President
21. Irma Valverde, University of Connecticut, Student Body President
22. Morgan Smith, University of Denver, Student Body President
23. Kayla McLoughlin, Methodist University, Student Body President
24. Jewel Hurt, James Madison University, Student Body President
25. Kelly Peng, Scripps College, Student Body President
26. Francesca Galbato, Loyola University Maryland
27. Lauren Michelle Johnson LSU Board of Supervisors and LSU Eunice Student Body President
28. Raven Brunner- Pennsylvania State University New Kensington, Student Government Association
President
29. Justin Onwenu, Rice University, Student Body President
30. Andrew Uhring, Association of Big Ten Students, Public Relations Director
31. Monica Mohanty, Wesleyan College, Student Government Association President
32. Mitchell Rosenberg, President, Chapman University Student Government Association
33. Osvaldo Flores, Berea College Student Body President
34. Hilary Vo, Pacific Lutheran University Associated Student Body President
35. Rex Willis, Virginia Tech Student Body President

4
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Daniel W. Webster et. all. Firearms on College Campuses:
Research Evidence and Policy Implications. October 2016.
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-policy-and-
research/_pdfs/GunsOnCampus.pdf
36. Max Kneis, University of Pittsburgh, Student Government Board President
37. Emily Kuester, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Student Association President
38. SaraAnn Kurkul, Boston University, Student Body President
39. Ivy Petsinger, Case Western Reserve University Student Body President
40. Janice Hind, Lesley University Undergraduate Student Government President
41. Suchira Sharma, Northeastern University Student Body President
42. Benjamin Reimler, Winona State University Student Body President
43. Angela Beam, Barnard College Student Government Association President
44. Jason Gorelick, Sonoma State University Associated Students Senate Chair
45. Julia Horowitz, Connecticut College Student Government President
46. Christa Bennett, Champlain College Student Government Association President
47. Sara Antony, Hamline University Undergraduate Student Body President
48. Eshfaq Ullah, Bemidji State University Student Body President
49. Morgan Peters, Illinois Institute of Technology Student Government Association President
50. Payton Robinson, Moorpark College Associated Student Body President
51. Nancy Yuan, Swarthmore College, Student Government Organization President
52. Maxine Jimenez, University of California, Santa Cruz, Student Union Assembly President
53. Drew Rogers, University of Missouri-Kansas CIty, Student Government Association President
54. Samantha Quiambao, California State University, East Bay, Associated Students Inc. President/CEO
55. Jonathan O’Dea, Anne Arundel Community College, Student Government Association
56. Kiley Varney, Bethel College, Student Body President
57. Cearrah L. Sherman, Salisbury University, Student Government Association President
58. Taylor Wright, University of South Carolina, Student Body President
59. James Rossano, Student Government Association President, Lasell College
60. Samantha Herskowitz- Adelphi University, Student Government Association President
61. Sarah Karwowski, University of Mary Washington, Student Government Association President
62. Spencer Schiller, Wake Forest University, Student Body President
63. Rachel Emond, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Student Government Association President
64. Christopher Petrillo, University Of Vermont
65. Darylann Aragon, University of Denver, Student Body Vice President
66. Kendric D. Jones, Prairie View A&M University, Student Government Association President
67. Courtney Brandon, Middle Tennessee State University, Student Government Association President
68. Riyanka Ganguly, Duke University, Duke Student Government President
69. Ramiro Málaga Ortega, Stony Brook University, Graduate Student Organization President
70. Laila Dadabhoy, California State University, Fullerton, Associated Students, Incorporated President/CEO
71. Cody Heaton, Pennsylvania State University, Student Body President
72. Courtney Zambon, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, Student Government Association President
73. Andrew Oppong, Calvin College, Student Body President
74. Jacob Simpson, President, University of Iowa Student Government
75. Cara Gibbons, Fairfield University Student Body President
76. Camille Gladieux, Mount Holyoke College, Student Government Association President
77. Alex Lopez, Nova Southeastern University, President of Nova Southeastern Undergraduate Student
Government Association (NSUSGA)
78. Rex Willis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Student Government Association President
2017-2018
79. Billie Golan, senator, SUNY New Paltz 65th Student Association Senate
80. Sophia Adams, Saint Michael’s College, Student Association President
81. Jermel McClure, Jr. Binghamton University, Student Association President & CEO
82. Lorenzo Santavicca, Michigan State University Student Body President