I still get panic attacks. I jump when someone slams a door too loud or drops a plate in the dining hall. This is the unfortunate reality for many UNLV students in the wake of our December 2023 mass shooting, where three of our professors were murdered and another critically injured. Just the other day, I witnessed an example of the immense strain it has caused on our campus.
As an organizer for RISE, a student-led nonprofit advocating for college affordability and building students’ political power, I have spent my days registering students to vote and asking them about the issues they care about in this election. This was interrupted one day by a sudden, loud bang somewhere in the distance. I immediately whipped my head in the direction of the noise but couldn’t identify what it was. I turned my head to the group of students I was speaking with: You could hear a pin drop the way they all intently listened for danger. Everything was alright… this time. The guy who caused the noise soon realized the small panic he had caused and apologized. But every student on this campus understands how easily a normal day can turn into a nightmare.
On December 6th, 2023, I was in the student union (SU) attending the inaugural “Rise University,” a day-long civic engagement workshop that teaches college students about advocacy around issues that impact students, such as college affordability, climate change, and even gun violence.
I will never forget the decisions I had to make that day. Once we received the message, “Reports of shots fired in the SU. Run. Hide. Fight, ” everything changed. This was it. I had minutes or seconds to live. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say goodbye to my parents. I wanted to spare them in some way, let them retain some hope for a little while longer. I lied to them the best I could and said I was safe. The next thirty minutes were the longest of my entire life. The sounds of SWAT storming the building, the heavily armed officer kicking down our door, and the shooter dead in a crimson puddle of blood outside.
I tried a lot of things to move on. I laid in my bed for a month. I listened to music in my car and sobbed. Nothing has felt more healing than joining Rise and other organizations to call for justice. When you surround yourself with people who believe they can change the world, hope doesn’t feel so futile.
I want young people to claim their power, to let themselves believe in hope. Gen-Z is one of the most informed generations ever thanks to the advent of the internet and social media platforms like TikTok, yet our greatest tools are often our most harmful self-inflicted weapons. Doom Scrolling, echo chambers, and misinformation can make our generation’s challenges feel insurmountable. My advice is not to let our politics be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we do not fight, we cannot win. Research shows mass shootings are the number one driving issue for Gen Z at the ballot box. Nevada has a long way to go, but I also celebrate our smaller victories. Members of Rise, for example, testified to the Nevada Board of Regents that helped secure funding for better campus security across the state. While Governor Joe Lombardo may have vetoed a trio of gun safety bills in 2022, we remain steadfast in our mission to bring the student perspective to the state capitol in 2025. To my fellow Gen-Zers, it’s okay to be afraid but unacceptable to give up. Join the movement. Hope is infectious, and we have plenty to go around.
—Mack Gledhill is a UNLV student majoring in political science and film and a campus organizer with RISE, a student-led nonprofit advocating for college affordability and building students’ political power.
