Parkland Shooting Survivor Urges Students to Press On
*By Christian Smith*
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's newest graduates carry with them a tragic burden, but the memory of the deadly mass shooting should not hold them back, said Darren Levine, an English teacher at the school.
"We are not moving on really," Levine said Monday in an interview with Cheddar. "We're moving forward. Our backpacks are a lot heavier, but we're continuing on."
The school's senior class graduated on Sunday at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., without four of their classmates. They were among the 14 students and three faculty members killed when a gunman went on a shooting rampage at the school in February.
This year's graduation ceremony was understandably heavier than past celebrations, said Levine, who graduated from Douglas himself in 2002. "It was more of a calm, solemn type of feel," he said.
Jimmy Fallon, the host of "The Tonight Show," surprised the graduating class with [a hopeful speech](https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/03/us/jimmy-fallon-parkland-graduation/index.html) that included a dose of humor to lighten the mood.
"Today you're graduating from high school," Fallon said. "You should feel incredibly proud of yourselves. That doesn't mean you should rest on your [laurels ー or your yannys](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/science/yanny-laurel.html)."
Fallon said that the silly debate over what sound different people hear will dissipate by the end of the summer, but the deeper bonds forged by the Douglas graduates' shared experience will last long after graduation, when they're "adults who Facebook search each other at two in the morning for the next 10 years."
When that shared burden gets difficult, Fallon said the graduates should "remember that it gets better."
"Choose to move forward," he said. "Don't let anything stop you."
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students have been unbowed since the shooting on February 14. They have lobbied Congress to change the country's gun laws, rallied communities to confront gun violence by organizing the March for Our Lives in Washington, and called on people who care about the issue to register to vote ahead of November's midterm elections.
Levine has led some of the students' trips to Washington to meet with lawmakers, and he said he was optimistic about the prospects for new gun control measures, though change will not happen quickly, he said.
"I understand this might not happen in my lifetime, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean it can't happen one day," Levine said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/marjory-stoneman-douglas-high-school-teacher-offers-students-post-graduation-advice).
Tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. According to NATO and U.S. officials, Russian troops are still being built up despite Moscow's claims of de-escalation. However, Ukraine does not believe the troops are enough to mount an invasion. The government in Kyiv has also reported several cyber attacks against its defense agencies and banks which is the largest attack in the country's history. Foreign Affairs Reporter based in Ukrain, Terrell Starr, joined Cheddar to discuss more
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
The Federal Reserve minutes from its January meeting are indicating it's sticking to an interest rate hike in March, but what does the report coupled with ongoing inflation mean for investors going forward? Scott Brown, a market strategist at LPL Financial, joined Cheddar News to break down the minutes and talk about how investors might navigate the rest of the year. "it seems like the market is kind of inclined to trade off these headlines, really, through the first half of the year," he said. "And then, oh, don't forget, we've got midterm elections, which always tend to add a little bit of volatility in the second half of the year." Brown noted that the path forward for stock investors in 2022 would be "rockier" than last year.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
The Chinese government brought the sitcom "Friends" back to its streaming services. However, it had instances of LGBTQ+ references left out, after the series had been banned on Chinese streaming platforms for years.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a national public order emergency as a 'last resort' to restore order after protests have significantly disrupted daily life and impacted the local economy since the protests began. It is the first time in 50 years a Canadian government has taken this type of action. Myah Ward, breaking news reporter at Politico, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Almost a decade after facing a parent's worst nightmare, the families of the young students killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting reached a settlement with gun manufacturer Remington, makers of the Bushmaster AR-15 used in the crime. David Pucino, deputy chief counsel, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence joined Cheddar News to discuss the families' case and how its strategy brought about the legal settlement. "They built a really great case showing the way that Bushmaster developed its advertising to drive sales using those toxic messages.
A new analysis reveals that for more than two decades, the West has been the driest it has ever been since 800 A.D. The drought which began in 2000 has brought more devastating wildfires and draining water reserves well below healthy levels. Climate Scientists and Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University,Benjamin Cook, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
