Gathered in the center of the atrium on Friday, Wilson students sat down to stand up against gun violence in the District. The sit in was organized by Wilson Common Ground, a club lead by a group of students with the goal of housing an environment welcome to any student at Wilson and addressing social issues present in the school.

The club meets once a week on Friday at STEP in room 317. The original idea of a sit in was proposed by Junior Addie Alexander and Senior Mikaela Woods in response to the loss of Jamahri Sydnor, a Wilson graduate who lost her life to gun violence in DC. “Once we got the news of Jamahri’s passing we knew right away that we had to do something in her honor and to take a stand against gun violence in our community,” Woods said.

“We proposed the idea the week before school started,” Alexander said. “Mikaela and I came up with the idea of a sit in because we thought it would be a good way to bring the Wilson community together.” To get the idea around, the club used a mix of social media promotion, flyers around the school, and word of mouth. “I made announcements about it in some of my classes and I know that other leaders told their friends about it as well,” Alexander said.

Following the sit in, Wilson Common Ground is looking to continue to grow, and to help, and to educate more students with regard to the social justice issues present in Wilson. “We hope to give students the platform to address those issues. We also explore the common ground that students share so that we build a strong community in Wilson outside of just regular friend groups. We promote social justice and social awareness of other cultures as well.”

PHOTO BY JACKSON FOX-BLAND