SWC students walked out of classes in support of Parkland, Florida students demanding a modernization of gun laws.

Southwestern College dodged a bullet.

Possibly 265 bullets.

On Oct. 11, 1999 a schizophrenic man dressed in combat fatigues with an assault rifle, a pistol and 265 rounds of ammunition parked at a Chevron station across the street from the college, and prepared to cross the street to kill a professor and whomever else was nearby. An alert gas station employee spotted him and called the police, preventing a possible mass shooting.

SWC was lucky that day. Parkland High School in Florida was not. Students and staff honored the 17 students killed in America’s most recent mass murder.

Nursing major Matta Fallah, 18, said mass shootings on campus have become too routine.

“It can happen to any school, it can happen here, you do not know,” she said. “It impacts me a lot and it is also going to impact our generation and future children. A school is a place people are comfortable to come to learn, but if people are dying, what is the point of coming to school?”

English Professor Jessica Posey said she is a mother of three from a family of avid hunters. To spread the message of gun reform, she said, the nation needs fewer moments of silence and more communication.

“I think that as a family that is pro-gun, it is important for us to share our voice with other gun advocates so then they can make the necessary reforms for unnecessary violence,” she said.

Director of Student Development Brett Robertson said America needs to “stop the violence. We need action.”

“Gun violence in this country is a serious problem and I think we need legislative political action,” he said. “I am really happy that so many people came out to support this effort today. We want to honor the victims, but we also need to do more. We need to take action. I do not want to live in a country where this threat is an ongoing problem.”

Black Student Union Secretary Danae Edwards, 19, a theater major, said students can be the faces and voices of change.

“Seeing that everyone was together during college hours and seeing how many people were impacted, impacted me,” she said. “Seeing all these people taking pictures and writing how they feel about certain things is beautiful.”