A rising Siena freshman had a creative idea to express her concern about gun violence in America – and hopefully start a dialogue on the subject.
Medha Palnati ’22 made her statement at her June 1 graduation from Westford Academy in Massachusetts. She decorated her white satin mortarboard with 46 tiny pairs of shoes fashioned from colored clay – one for each student and educator killed since the start of her senior year.
She was inspired by activists who in March placed 7,000 pairs of children’s shoes on the U.S. Capitol lawn to represent all the children killed by gun violence since the 2012 Newtown, Conn. shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“I felt that this year, with all of the mass shootings that occurred, there was a large political response, especially from students,” she explained. “If more people are willing to talk about it, there will be more push for changes in legislation.”
She had originally planned to include enough shoes on her cap to represent those killed during her entire four years of high schools; sadly, there would have been too many to fit.
This isn’t Palnati’s first effort as a compassionate activist. Earlier this year, she helped organize her school’s walkout to honor gun violence victims. The February 14 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida hit home for her graduating class: one student’s cousin, Peter’s Wang, was a victim. She also organized her school’s first-ever Diversity Day and was involved with the human rights club.
“Some people felt we were doing too much and making statements that were too strong, and other said we weren’t doing enough. Someone told us, ‘If you’re getting criticism from both sides, you’re probably doing it right.’”
Palnati will be majoring in biology at Siena and will enter Albany Medical College after she earns her B.S. here.
“I’m really excited about coming to Siena,” she said. “The people I met when I visited the College seemed really passionate about helping others,” she said. “They know it’s important to develop both your heart and your mind, and to put them together to do something important for the world."
