“Tonight I’m here as governor, as a mom of two college kids, as a fellow Spartan, as a fellow Michigander.
We know that there is no such thing as a quiet, shy Spartan, right? We’ll take this moment and live the action and memory of those that we lost and those that are fighting for their lives.
We Spartans show up and represent MSU everywhere. From our cars to our hats to our mugs. If there’s merch that exists, we own it. And you can spot us a mile away. And if you don’t see us, you hear us because we say “go green.”
Everyone remembers the excitement you feel during Welcome Week, cherishing the years on the banks of the red cedar. We really really love this place and you can see it and how we treat one another and how we show up for one another. And I think that’s what makes this moment so much more painful.
Our Spartan community is reeling this week and our lives and our hearts break for those lives that were shattered by gun violence.
We mourn Arielle, and Al if she was known to our loved ones, and Brian, who were taken from us far too soon. We think about their families recalling their last visit home. We hurt for their friends who are remembering their last conversation or maybe rereading text messages. And we are hoping for those who are fighting for their lives in the hospital. And we hold each other closer.
We also recognize that gun violence is a uniquely American problem. Too many places in our nation that are supposed to be about learning, and community or joy have been shattered by bullets and stained by bloodshed.
Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the Parkland shooting, a few weeks ago it was a dance hall in California and less than a year ago, an elementary school in Texas, countless other shootings between grocery stores and houses of worship, parades, bars, workshops, and city centers. And Michiganders are no strangers to this pain. A little over a year ago, we lost four young souls at Oxford high. There are students who lived through that the worst day of their lives only to go and experience it again here. There’s a student at MSU today who lived through Sandy Hook as a child and relived it again two nights ago. We shouldn’t have to live like this. We shouldn’t have to subconsciously scan every room for an exit go through the grim exercise of figuring out who our last call would be to. Our campuses, churches, classrooms and communities should not be battlefields. And so it’s okay if you feel frustrated, or angry or sad. Because we are the only country in the world where guns are the number one killer of young people.
Tonight feels heavy. In our darkest moments, we need to find the light. Sometimes it’s in one another. We saw the light in the medical professionals at Sparrow who cared for victims. So many off-duty nurses and doctors showed up without being called they had to turn some of them away. We saw that light in the law enforcement who rushed into harm’s way putting their lives on the line to secure campus. Officers came as far away from as Oakland County where Oxford is. We saw that light in MSU students. Countless Spartans were heroes, letting others into their dorms barricading rooms hiding in dark closets, holding each other’s hands, calling in tips.
I will tell you I met with two survivors today. One of whom told me he wanted me to share with you that a fellow Spartan took off his shirt and pressed on his chest and saved his life.
And we saw that light in Michigan parents who showed the power of their love through their actions. Many came and are here today wanting nothing more than to hold their kids tight and tell them it’s gonna be okay.
Your colleague in the hospital said he’s going to dedicate his life to teaching and fighting gun violence.
But the truth is, it’s not going to be okay with just words. And the time for only prayers and thoughts is over.
The Rock yesterday said “how many more?”
How many more grieving parents and kids, how many more cities and towns in the schools will be shorthand for shootings? How many more until we work together on common sense reform?
We don’t know. But what we do know is we can’t continue to live like this. We know that we will keep showing up for one another, we know that we will keep working to keep you safe. And we won’t stop until the job is done. And we know there’s much goodness and light in this community, and it outshines the darkness. And we know that we are Spartan strong.
I want to end tonight with a story. I spoke to the father of one of the victims yesterday. He told me about his beautiful, driven daughter. She was home last weekend, and couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved this campus in this school. She had that look in her eyes that so many of us do when we talk about MSU. She was exactly where she wanted to be. Society in this country has failed her and failed you. She won’t get to go to another basketball game or graduate from the school that she loved the most. It’s unacceptable, and we cannot let it stand.
I will do everything in my power. To make sure that those we’ve lost are not just numbers or stories to be forgotten in a week or month from now. We are in a unique position to take action to save lives and that’s exactly what we are going to do.
And we will heed the words of Alexandria, who we lost and had some advice for some underclassmen in our high school yearbook. She wrote “today may be hard, but tomorrow will be better. Together. Let’s make sure that tomorrow is better. I love you.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Feb. 15, 2023
