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).
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting.
Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights.
Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change.
Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root.
Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
