1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,166 UDY WOODRUFF: As we said at the beginning of the program, student-led rallies have picked 2 00:00:04,166 --> 00:00:09,166 up a momentum of their own in Florida and around the country, in large part out of anger 3 00:00:11,166 --> 00:00:15,066 over the easy availability of assault-style weapons and other kinds of guns. 4 00:00:17,133 --> 00:00:19,800 There were rallies here in Washington as well today, in front of the White House and another 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:21,800 near the Capitol. 6 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,900 Two students who took part in the rallies after a school from their changes walkout 7 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:27,800 join me now. 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,833 Camille Richter is a senior at McLean High School in McLean, Virginia. 9 00:00:31,833 --> 00:00:34,433 And Jake Bennett is a senior at H.B. 10 00:00:34,433 --> 00:00:37,900 Woodlawn Secondary School in Arlington, Virginia. 11 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:41,966 And thank you to both of you for coming out here to the studio to talk to us. 12 00:00:41,966 --> 00:00:44,533 Jake, I'm going to start with you. 13 00:00:44,533 --> 00:00:46,733 You walked, you were just telling me, something like five miles from your school all the way 14 00:00:46,733 --> 00:00:50,100 to the White House today from Arlington into D.C. 15 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:51,600 JAKE BENNETT, Student: Yes. 16 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,666 JUDY WOODRUFF: Why did you want to be a part of this today? 17 00:00:53,666 --> 00:00:57,666 JAKE BENNETT: Because we live so close to D.C., we felt that it wouldn't be the same 18 00:01:01,066 --> 00:01:06,066 if we just walked outside, if we just walked to a courthouse, which is where our public 19 00:01:07,333 --> 00:01:09,433 school headquarters are. 20 00:01:09,433 --> 00:01:14,433 We felt driven to march to the White House and to really show that we would go this far 21 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,233 to voice our discontent and our anger with Congress. 22 00:01:21,233 --> 00:01:23,900 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Camille, why is this so important to you? 23 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:27,966 CAMILLE RICHTER, Student: You know, I am sick of going to school every day being scared 24 00:01:27,966 --> 00:01:30,866 for my life and being scared for my friends' lives. 25 00:01:30,866 --> 00:01:35,866 We live in a relatively safe part of Virginia - - at least I do -- in McLean. 26 00:01:37,866 --> 00:01:41,833 And it's silly that we live in a First World country and still, first graders, second graders, 27 00:01:43,866 --> 00:01:47,200 like, young kids, all through high schoolers are afraid of going to school, and they're 28 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:48,733 afraid of what's going to happen to them. 29 00:01:48,733 --> 00:01:50,900 It's not right, and it really needs to stop. 30 00:01:50,900 --> 00:01:55,900 JUDY WOODRUFF: Jake, you were saying that you feel strongly that something has to be 31 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:57,933 done. 32 00:01:57,933 --> 00:02:00,000 Do you have an idea right now of what you think it should be? 33 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,433 JAKE BENNETT: I think that universal background checks need to be implemented to buy a gun. 34 00:02:05,900 --> 00:02:08,066 And I think that we should ban assault rifles again. 35 00:02:08,066 --> 00:02:11,800 They were banned for 10 years, and that really did work. 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,666 There's no need for American civilians to have a machine of war. 37 00:02:15,666 --> 00:02:18,233 They're not used for hunting or protection. 38 00:02:18,233 --> 00:02:21,200 They're used for murder. 39 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:26,200 And I think that those are two steps in the right direction. 40 00:02:27,066 --> 00:02:29,100 Background checks are very fast. 41 00:02:29,100 --> 00:02:32,733 They take two minutes, and they would really save a lot of lives, in my opinion. 42 00:02:32,733 --> 00:02:36,700 JUDY WOODRUFF: And yet a lot of people, as you know, Camille, because we haven't had 43 00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:41,700 that legislation since it was allowed to expired, argue that people should be allowed to buy 44 00:02:42,866 --> 00:02:43,800 pretty much any kind of gun they want. 45 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:45,200 CAMILLE RICHTER: Yes. 46 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:46,433 It's ridiculous. 47 00:02:46,433 --> 00:02:48,466 Growing up -- we live in Virginia. 48 00:02:48,466 --> 00:02:51,333 We have a rule that you can only buy one gun a month, which, for us, in Virginia, people 49 00:02:51,333 --> 00:02:53,633 have complained is too restrictive for guns. 50 00:02:53,633 --> 00:02:57,133 I have a lot of family from Wisconsin, hunters. 51 00:02:57,133 --> 00:02:59,466 I have been around guns for a long time. 52 00:02:59,466 --> 00:03:00,766 I know what it's like. 53 00:03:00,766 --> 00:03:02,266 You shoot a gun, you live in Virginia. 54 00:03:02,266 --> 00:03:03,966 It's a pretty regular thing. 55 00:03:03,966 --> 00:03:07,366 But there's a difference between a hunting rifle and an assault rifle. 56 00:03:07,366 --> 00:03:12,366 There's a difference between military-grade weaponry and weaponry that could be perceived 57 00:03:13,766 --> 00:03:15,633 as being part of American culture with hunting. 58 00:03:15,633 --> 00:03:17,833 It's just -- it's unnecessary. 59 00:03:17,833 --> 00:03:19,366 It's blatantly unnecessary. 60 00:03:19,366 --> 00:03:22,300 JUDY WOODRUFF: Jake, you mentioned the assault weapons. 61 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:24,366 JAKE BENNETT: Yes. 62 00:03:24,366 --> 00:03:26,300 JUDY WOODRUFF: And I know one of the ideas that's being discussed today is putting an 63 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:30,466 age limit on who can buy an AR-15 or another assault weapon. 64 00:03:30,466 --> 00:03:32,100 JAKE BENNETT: Yes. 65 00:03:32,100 --> 00:03:33,566 JUDY WOODRUFF: Would something like that, you think, be acceptable? 66 00:03:33,566 --> 00:03:36,233 JAKE BENNETT: I think that part of that would be acceptable. 67 00:03:36,233 --> 00:03:41,233 I think that an age limit should be implemented, but other restrictions should be added on 68 00:03:42,333 --> 00:03:44,366 to it. 69 00:03:44,366 --> 00:03:48,333 I really don't believe that anyone needs an AR-15 or other assault weapon. 70 00:03:49,633 --> 00:03:52,100 They don't serve any purpose, except for massacre. 71 00:03:52,100 --> 00:03:57,100 It's what the shooters out in Sandy Hook in Newtown used and Orlando and now at Stoneman 72 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,233 Douglas. 73 00:04:03,233 --> 00:04:05,233 It's unnecessary. 74 00:04:05,233 --> 00:04:08,600 JUDY WOODRUFF: Camille, there's also been a proposal that there be more guns in schools 75 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,600 to protect students, that teachers or others be trained and armed to protect students. 76 00:04:15,900 --> 00:04:19,333 CAMILLE RICHTER: Yes, I think it's just -- it's expensive and unnecessary. 77 00:04:19,333 --> 00:04:24,333 You know, how much money does it cost to give every teacher and potentially students the 78 00:04:26,300 --> 00:04:29,333 training and the weaponry that they need in order to protect themselves? 79 00:04:29,333 --> 00:04:34,333 It just -- it feels like there is an easier solution to the problem that people and lawmakers 80 00:04:35,066 --> 00:04:36,533 are kind of avoiding. 81 00:04:36,533 --> 00:04:38,400 JUDY WOODRUFF: Jake, do you feel like you're getting through? 82 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,000 I know you all were just watching some of the discussion inside the White House. 83 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,100 JAKE BENNETT: Yes. 84 00:04:44,100 --> 00:04:46,233 JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump invited students and some parents who have been through these 85 00:04:46,233 --> 00:04:48,233 tragedies, and educators. 86 00:04:48,233 --> 00:04:51,966 Do you feel like the message is getting through to the people who can make a difference? 87 00:04:51,966 --> 00:04:56,966 JAKE BENNETT: The message is -- that the Florida students are sending, you know, that we were 88 00:04:59,366 --> 00:05:02,433 sending, what students all across America are sending, parents, teachers, everyday people 89 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,600 are trying to send to Congress and to the president are that, you know, Congress needs 90 00:05:10,633 --> 00:05:15,633 to stop saying yes to the NRA and start saying yes to the American children and to safety 91 00:05:17,333 --> 00:05:19,133 in schools. 92 00:05:19,133 --> 00:05:22,033 I think that's the message that we were trying to send. 93 00:05:22,033 --> 00:05:27,033 I think that what we did today was set forward a motion that will keep -- you know, it will 94 00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:32,166 keep building momentum until it does make a change. 95 00:05:32,166 --> 00:05:33,633 JUDY WOODRUFF: What about that, Camille? 96 00:05:33,633 --> 00:05:35,066 Because there have been school shootings before. 97 00:05:35,066 --> 00:05:37,100 There have been protests before. 98 00:05:37,100 --> 00:05:41,633 But it hasn't lasted or there's been a little bit of change, but not a change. 99 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:43,300 These things keep happening. 100 00:05:43,300 --> 00:05:45,700 CAMILLE RICHTER: Right. 101 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:48,866 It's just we elected Congress to be the representatives of the people, not to be the representatives 102 00:05:48,866 --> 00:05:51,133 of big lobby firms and of the NRA. 103 00:05:51,133 --> 00:05:56,133 And it feels like, when our legislature and when our representatives ignore the epidemic 104 00:05:58,166 --> 00:06:01,700 of shootings that are going on across the U.S., it makes you wonder, who they are working 105 00:06:01,700 --> 00:06:02,966 for? 106 00:06:02,966 --> 00:06:04,866 You know, you want to be represented. 107 00:06:04,866 --> 00:06:06,500 You want your voice to be heard. 108 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:08,633 So... 109 00:06:08,633 --> 00:06:11,800 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, you know, some say, well, these young people feel strongly, but they're 110 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:12,833 just high school students. 111 00:06:12,833 --> 00:06:14,233 CAMILLE RICHTER: Right. 112 00:06:14,233 --> 00:06:16,566 JUDY WOODRUFF: How much difference can they really make? 113 00:06:16,566 --> 00:06:19,133 CAMILLE RICHTER: I think we can make a huge difference. 114 00:06:19,133 --> 00:06:23,066 There has been some talk from some representatives that, you know, the high school students who 115 00:06:24,933 --> 00:06:28,333 are making a stand in Florida are plants by the FBI or they're paid to do this. 116 00:06:29,466 --> 00:06:31,466 And it's absolutely ridiculous. 117 00:06:31,466 --> 00:06:35,133 Again, like we were saying earlier, if you're 18, men are old enough to be drafted. 118 00:06:35,133 --> 00:06:39,800 At 16, at least in Virginia, you can buy a car, which is dangerous within itself. 119 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,333 Why can't -- why can you buy a gun? 120 00:06:42,333 --> 00:06:44,066 Well, it's just -- you can do these things. 121 00:06:44,066 --> 00:06:46,333 It just -- it doesn't make sense. 122 00:06:46,333 --> 00:06:47,766 We have a voice. 123 00:06:47,766 --> 00:06:50,966 And we're clearly, you know, able enough to use it. 124 00:06:50,966 --> 00:06:53,800 You know, we know what we're talking about, to an extent, but... 125 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,100 JUDY WOODRUFF: Jake, do you feel that you and your friends are committed to stick with 126 00:06:57,100 --> 00:06:58,100 this, with this issue? 127 00:06:58,100 --> 00:07:00,233 JAKE BENNETT: Oh, absolutely. 128 00:07:00,233 --> 00:07:04,833 We are committed to keep doing whatever is necessary to effect change, whether it's rallies, 129 00:07:08,066 --> 00:07:13,066 you know, protests, whatever it takes, really reaching out to people online. 130 00:07:15,666 --> 00:07:17,566 It's not going to be just us that effects this change. 131 00:07:17,566 --> 00:07:20,733 It's going to be high schoolers all across America who does. 132 00:07:20,733 --> 00:07:24,933 JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I know you have managed to get the attention of a lot of people. 133 00:07:24,933 --> 00:07:27,633 Jake Bennett, Camille Richter, thank you both. 134 00:07:27,633 --> 00:07:28,766 CAMILLE RICHTER: Thank you. 135 00:07:28,766 --> 00:07:30,266 JAKE BENNETT: Thank you. 136 00:07:30,266 --> 00:07:33,033 JUDY WOODRUFF: And now we get a teacher's perspective. 137 00:07:33,033 --> 00:07:38,033 Mike Conrad says the issue of school shootings has come up repeatedly in his own classroom. 138 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,733 He teaches video production at Royal Oak High School outside Detroit, Michigan. 139 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:45,933 And he joins me now from there. 140 00:07:45,933 --> 00:07:48,133 Mike Conrad, welcome to the program. 141 00:07:48,133 --> 00:07:52,233 You were able to listen to these two students we were speaking with. 142 00:07:52,233 --> 00:07:54,233 What did you make of what they had to say? 143 00:07:54,233 --> 00:07:56,533 MIKE CONRAD, Teacher, Royal Oak High School: Well, I applaud them for everything they had 144 00:07:56,533 --> 00:07:58,600 to say. 145 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,300 The students, not only Camille and Jake, but the students around the country, are taking 146 00:08:02,300 --> 00:08:03,533 a stand. 147 00:08:03,533 --> 00:08:04,800 And they're using the right language. 148 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,533 They are using the right vocabulary. 149 00:08:07,533 --> 00:08:09,700 They are fed up. 150 00:08:09,700 --> 00:08:11,900 And it's time for them to help make change. 151 00:08:11,900 --> 00:08:15,700 So I applaud the fact that they went to the rally today. 152 00:08:15,700 --> 00:08:18,666 I enjoyed hearing their thoughts, and I agree with them. 153 00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:22,600 JUDY WOODRUFF: You were telling us that your own students are speaking up. 154 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,433 What are they saying about the shooting in Florida? 155 00:08:24,433 --> 00:08:27,333 MIKE CONRAD: There's a lot of discussion. 156 00:08:27,333 --> 00:08:31,533 The discussion tone has changed in the past couple of days. 157 00:08:31,533 --> 00:08:33,500 Students are scared. 158 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:37,566 I can give you an example that, daily, just a generic P.A. announcement throughout the 159 00:08:38,233 --> 00:08:39,466 school. 160 00:08:39,466 --> 00:08:42,633 When that tone goes off, the tension heightens. 161 00:08:42,633 --> 00:08:47,566 And you hear a student gasp or you hear a student say with fear, oh, no, because they 162 00:08:47,566 --> 00:08:49,600 don't know what the announcement is going to say. 163 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,700 That shouldn't happen in the classroom. 164 00:08:51,700 --> 00:08:56,500 There are students who are asking me how I'm prepared to defend them should a shooter come 165 00:08:57,100 --> 00:08:59,066 into the school. 166 00:08:59,066 --> 00:09:03,266 It's a difficult question to answer, because I can talk about all of our drills, all of 167 00:09:03,866 --> 00:09:05,833 our lockdowns. 168 00:09:05,833 --> 00:09:08,800 I can talk about everything that we do as a school district and what I do in terms of 169 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:13,700 my own knowledge, but, at the end of the day, how do you prepare yourself for one of these 170 00:09:13,700 --> 00:09:15,833 situations that happened in Florida? 171 00:09:15,833 --> 00:09:20,533 JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, what is your thinking about teachers being armed, teachers being 172 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,366 trained? 173 00:09:22,366 --> 00:09:24,400 It came up just this afternoon at the White House. 174 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,666 The president raised it with the students and teachers and parents who were -- he was 175 00:09:27,666 --> 00:09:28,666 meeting with. 176 00:09:28,666 --> 00:09:30,700 What do you think of that idea? 177 00:09:30,700 --> 00:09:34,300 MIKE CONRAD: I think that the moment that you put a gun on the hip of a teacher in a 178 00:09:34,300 --> 00:09:39,100 classroom, that we have accepted the norm that school shootings will not stop, that 179 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:44,033 we are now on the front line to defend against them, instead of trying to find a way to stop 180 00:09:44,033 --> 00:09:45,500 them. 181 00:09:45,500 --> 00:09:48,066 And I look at a classroom as a safe environment. 182 00:09:48,066 --> 00:09:51,700 And I never look at it, when I say that to students or to parents, that a safe environment 183 00:09:51,700 --> 00:09:55,166 in a classroom means defending against shootings. 184 00:09:55,166 --> 00:09:59,233 What I look at, is it a place where a student can talk to me, where a student can bring 185 00:09:59,233 --> 00:10:01,200 their problems to me? 186 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,300 When they know that one of their friends might go home this weekend and harm themselves, 187 00:10:04,300 --> 00:10:08,633 and not come back on Monday, and they come to me and tell me that, I know that they trust 188 00:10:08,633 --> 00:10:11,033 me that they can come and say those things to me. 189 00:10:11,033 --> 00:10:13,100 That's a safe environment. 190 00:10:13,100 --> 00:10:16,700 The second I put a gun on my hip, I don't think that that relationship continues. 191 00:10:16,700 --> 00:10:21,700 JUDY WOODRUFF: If it's not arming teachers, then what are some solutions, do you think? 192 00:10:24,266 --> 00:10:28,366 What's the role that teachers can play to keep students safe and themselves? 193 00:10:28,366 --> 00:10:32,400 MIKE CONRAD: Well, I think some of it is education and awareness. 194 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:36,366 I think that Camille and Jake did a great job of explaining some of the things that 195 00:10:36,366 --> 00:10:41,366 have to happen prior to the point where a shooter ever walks into a school. 196 00:10:42,533 --> 00:10:44,233 Teachers shouldn't be a line of defense. 197 00:10:44,233 --> 00:10:46,766 The point should never get to the point where they're asked to do so. 198 00:10:46,766 --> 00:10:51,766 So, I think we, as teachers -- I teach high school students, 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-year-old 199 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,033 students. 200 00:10:55,033 --> 00:10:58,233 I should be preparing them to make those decisions to go out and vote, to call their legislators, 201 00:10:58,233 --> 00:11:00,366 to march, should they want to. 202 00:11:00,366 --> 00:11:04,900 But I think my job as a teacher is to inspire and to educate, and I think that's the best 203 00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:09,900 thing that we can do at that point in a classroom, not make it a military zone. 204 00:11:11,966 --> 00:11:14,933 JUDY WOODRUFF: Mike Conrad is a teacher at Royal Oak High School near Detroit. 205 00:11:15,666 --> 00:11:16,100 Thank you very much.