Students commemorate Parkland victims

Sam Annunziato, Vanessa Casillas, Amelie Cook, Patrick Dóñez, Jay Gupta, Janitza Luna, and Emily Stepanian

February 15, 2019

Hunter Lange (’22)

Before and after: Students fill Parkland posters with love.

“We will never forget you – and change will be made.”

Students crowd around a table in the library, extending condolences and sentimental messages with colorful markers on a blank poster. Their words surround the names of the 17 victims of the shooting one year ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Empowering Student Voices Initiative (E.S.V.I.) played an essential role in organizing this memorial event. On behalf of the club, Chris Haliburton (‘20) sent a STAS email on Outlook, encouraging people to contribute to the poster and write their own note.

He wrote, “On this rainy Thursday morning, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, but it is also the one year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School school shooting in Parkland. E.S.V.I. is putting a poster [in Fawcett Library] so the community can write messages of support for the students of Parkland. We would greatly appreciate the participation of the community. The poster will be out all day. Thank you!”

Chris said, “Hunter [Lange (‘22)] asked Ms. Mani if there was something we could do for Valentine’s Day since it was the one year anniversary of the Parkland shooting. He wanted to do a poster so we could put it in the library and students at Webb could write messages of support and we could send that off to the students at Marjory Stoneman. As a group we went and talked to Mr. Farrell and Mrs. Lantz and asked them what we could do on campus. Today we got the poster board, we got the markers, and this morning I sent an email to the student body to let them know there would be a poster in the middle of the library.”

Along with this poster, Webb boarding students and faculty members honored the victims during community dinner on Wednesday evening. Keigan McCullagh (‘21) and Hunter Lange (‘22) read the 17 names aloud while the community took a moment of silence and reflection.

At 10:17 a.m., students in high schools all across Florida joined in a moment of silence for the victims. The significance of this time was chosen to honor the 17 people killed, along with the 17 injured. Although the shooting actually began around 2:20 p.m., school officials picked a different time because Stoneman Douglas students were being dismissed before 2:20 p.m. local time, the moment the shooting began a year ago, to avoid being on campus at the time of the shooting. Marjory Stoneman Douglas did not hold regular classes today, instead opting for a “Day of Service and Love.”

We stand strong with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and we remember the victims of this tragedy.

About the Contributors

Sam Annunziato, Editor of Sports

If you can’t find Sam Annunziato ('19) up at the Webb gym playing basketball, you might find him out on the ice playing hockey in Ontario. Sam has been playing hockey since he discovered his passion for the sport at the age of nine. Sam has worked his way up for three years from the frosh basketball team. Sam hopes his valuable experiences of traveling domestically for sports tournaments and meeting new people will help his writing become more distinct. Coming from a large family, Sam takes pride in his abilities to not only debate, but win. He believes this persuasive trait will help him write more convincing Opinion pieces in Journalism. This year, Sam is extremely excited to learn more about the games he loves through the lens of a journalist.

Vanessa Casillas, Staff Writer

Vanessa Casillas ('19) is a senior boarding student from Upland serving as a staff writer in her first year in Journalism. Vanessa is a debate aficionado, and in her debate-like spirit, she hopes to write about current events Webb Canyon Chronicle. She hopes to use her articles as a forum for debate, by writing them in a pro-con style. In the future, she plans to study pre-law and history in college and become an attorney. In her free time, Vanessa enjoys spending time with friends, reading, and watching Trisha Paytas’s mukbangs.

Amelie Cook, Copy Editor

Amelie Cook (‘20) is entering her third year in journalism and is ecstatic for her new position as Copy Editor. Amelie balances her time in journalism with being a Day Student Prefect and babysitter on the weekends. She spent most of her summer babysitting amazing kids and visiting family when she got the chance. As a DSP, she is responsible for improving day student life and hosting fun events on campus. She loves listening to her favorite artist Bazzi and reading murder mystery books. The secret to Amelie's boundless enthusiasm is to sleep—a lot. Once awake, she focuses her energy on environmental issues as she believes society should put more emphasis on combating climate change.

Patrick Dóñez, Editor-in-Chief

Patrick Dóñez (’21), a day student from Upland, California, is one of this year's editors in chief. Last year, Patrick was the Editor of Opinion, which helped the transition into his leadership role for the 2020 – 2021 school year. This year, he wants the WCC to lead conversations about different political and social topics in the Webb community. He enjoys listening to hip hop and RnB, and some of his favorite artists are Pusha T, Erykah Badu, and Modest Mouse. Patrick enjoys writing about his opinions and music, which is why joining journalism in sophomore year was perfect for him. During quarantine, he spent most of his time reading, skateboarding, and working on his magazine project Rx. After COVID-19, he is excited to finally get out of the house and nervous for the future of college and higher education.

Jay Gupta, Editor of Technology

Jay Gupta (‘20), hailing from New Delhi, India and Newport Beach, CA, is the tech expert of the Webb Canyon Chronicle. He currently serves as the Editor of Technology. Jay enjoys writing about global and international news, but one of his goals for this upcoming school year is to involve himself more in the Webb community by frequently checking out student-run events. In his free time, Jay likes to dive into a good book. His favorite authors are Arundhati Roy and John Grisham. He also enjoys listening to Green Day and Blink-182. With his mastermind of a brain, Jay strives to advance as a strong and knowledgeable leader.

Janitza Luna, Editor-in-Chief

Standing at 5’0”ft tall, Janitza Luna ('20) embodies the persona of small and mighty. Born into the Aries astrological sign, her fiery determination and zeal are an awe-inspiring force. Janitza enjoys collaborating with her peers, as it gives her an opportunity to learn about other people’s backgrounds. Her interest in sociology is the root to her reasoning and it allows her to develop human understanding because she is able to understand and appreciate the different perspectives of her peers. As a result, Janitza is an empathetic and kind being. She is also a fun person to be around; she shows her goofy and light-hearted personality through her creation of weird Snapchat videos and Spotify playlists.

Emily Stepanian, Staff Writer

Emily Stepanian (‘19) is a first-year staff writer for the Webb Canyon Chronicle. She was born and raised in California but oddly, prefers the winter over the summer. However, when it comes to the sand or the snow, she does not discriminate— on weekends you can find her snowboarding or relaxing on the beach with friends and listening to music. Her favorite academic subject is science, and combined with her love of helping people, she hopes to become a doctor in the future. She is also the new student liaison for the Dorm Council and is captain of the varsity soccer team. Her exceptional skills at the sport stem from seven years of club soccer outside of school. Emily joined journalism because she likes writing and hopes to further this passion throughout the year.