Parkland Survivor David Hogg Comes to UCSB

Just two days before the fifth anniversary of the May 23 Isla Vista killings, Parkland Shooting survivor and gun-control advocate David Hogg delivered a passionate talk to a nearly full Campbell Hall, followed by a Q&A. Presented by UCSB’s Associated Students Program Board, Hogg’s lecture addressed the full range of gun violence, from hate crimes and police brutality to gang violence, school shootings, and global conflict. He acknowledged the local community’s own experience with gun violence ​— ​three students in Isla Vista were killed with a gun and three with a knife in 2014 ​— ​followed by his personal account of Parkland, and how he and his peers were elemental in passing 67 state gun laws and holding marches on every continent following the 2018 tragedy in Florida. In a time in the U.S. when more people die from school shootings than in active military duty, Hogg called on youth to be the change, stating, “Thoughts and prayers don’t stop shootings … we have to work to build a less violent generation in a country founded on violence.”