Anya Menk

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Abstract

“America has become so accustomed to mass shootings that we’ve developed a routine. There’s the shock, the horror, the memorials, the grief. But for those who survive such horrific attacks, little about life is routine anymore” (Bale, 2024). Since the Columbine shooting in 1999, 390,000 students have experienced gun violence at school (Sandy Hook Promise). School shootings are defined as any event where “a gun is fired, brandished (pointed at a person with intent), or a bullet hits school property, regardless of the number of victims, day, time or reason” (K-12 School Shooting Database). Guns are the leading cause of death for American children and teens, with an average of seven young people dying from guns every day (Sandy Hook Promise). This includes suicides, accidental homicides and intentional homicides. The level of grief, despair and anger felt by people affected by school shootings is incomprehensible. It is simply not possible to grasp the emotional and physical toll that is felt by a parent who has lived through the unimaginable. I had a discussion over the phone with an anonymous parent who lost their young daughter in a school shooting when I first began this project. I will never forget this phone call. Just two minutes of conversation with a person whom I just met shook me to my core. I explained the mission of the project and asked if they would like me to compose a song in memory of their daughter. They said the following phrase that completely broke me: “I am trying my hardest to get back to a normal life. I don’t want songs in memory of her, because I am trying to forget.” Of History and Hope: Envisioning a Safer Future for Our Children, my culminating experience project as part of the Master’s program at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, seeks to provide some semblance of relief for individuals who have experienced pain one cannot begin to fathom. In an effort to normalize jazz music as a tool to address some of the pressing issues in society, Of History and Hope incorporates in-depth-research and first-hand experience to raise awareness to the issue of school shootings and how we can prevent them. Most importantly, this project provides music for Chris Cordova, a friend personally impacted by the Uvalde school shooting on May 24th, 2022.

Publication Date

7-1-2025

Campus

Boston Campus

Keywords

school shootings; Uvalde; gun laws; gun lobbies; warning signs; mass shootings; guns; gun violence

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Of History and Hope: Envisioning a Safer Future for Our Children

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