Milo Sandman

Milo Sandman (He/Him) is an 8th grade student at LREI. His topic is Gun Violence in NYC and the US. He chose this because he thinks it is important to understand a leading cause of death and how to try and prevent it.

Eighth Grade Zoom Meeting With Donna Dees

The gun control group at LREI had an amazing offer to interview Donna Dees over zoom on 1/29/24. There was so much information that we learned that we might have never found without the help of her. Donna was extremely nice and very open to answering all of our questions, even when we asked what type of dog she had!

While interviewing her, we were able to find out why she started the Million Mom’s March and why she cares so much about this topic. It turns out that there was a shooting at a summer camp by a white supremacist who was trying to kill Jewish kids, and Donna’s daughters were the same age at the time as the kids shot, but they survived. She made it primarily for moms, high school students, college students, dads, single people, and so on. Donna also had a family member commit suicide with a gun that was left unlocked. Overall this meeting/interview really opened mine and our groups eyes to look at as many ways as we can to help and prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands.

The Lunch and Lobbying with Eighth Grade

On 1/29/24 Jack, Carolina, Ryder, Noah, Wally, Luca and I all attended the Newtown Action Alliance Lunch and Lobbying zoom call. In this short time, we were able to learn about how to lobby senators all around the world. Sadly most calls ended up going to voice mail, we were able to speak with a few assistants that work alongside these senators.

This opportunity really opened mine and my group’s eyes because it showed us that even if we are a small group, every action we take is one towards helping an important cause. I personally really enjoyed working alongside with the Newtown Action Alliance because I felt that each call me and the fellow people in our group made, it is one small step to helping the government make stricter gun laws.

Meeting with Marika Condos

On January 19 2024 me Wally, Jack, and Luca interviewed Marika Condos. She has been a therapist for the past 25 years and has worked as a private therapist and also for CMHs. This interview was a great way for us to learn about unspoken parts of gun violence and the mental state of people who go to therapy. One fact we learned that had great importance is people who are mentally unstable, are not all violent and try to cause harm to other people, only about 2.5% of mentally unstable people are aggressive. Me and my group are so lucky we were able to meet with Marika and she was so willing to answer all of our questions.

Eighth grade from LREI visits the UN

Me and the fellow eighth graders from LREI visited the United Nations in NYC. This is one of or if not the most important buildings in New York City, this is where all the presidents meet to discuss wars and to maintain peace. Fun fact, the three big things that are inside of the UN are all donated by other countries. We were able to get this amazing tour because of our wonderful tour guide who showed us around the building. Throughout this whole tour, my topic of Gun Violence in NYC was brought up rarely, our tour guide talked about the military budgets, this stands at a staggering 1.8 trillion dollars a year. Overall, this trip was amazing and would 100% recommend to anyone slightly interested in visiting the UN.

Eighth grade from LREI visits the UN

Me and the fellow eighth grade from LREI visited the United Nations in NYC. This is one of or if not the most important buildings in New York City, this is where all the presidents meet to discuss wars and to maintain peace. Fun fact, the three big things that are inside of the UN are all donated by other countries. We were able to get this amazing tour because of our wonderful tour guide who showed us around the building. Throughout this whole tour, my topic of Gun Violence in NYC was brought up rarely, our tour guide talked about the military budgets, this stands at a staggering 1.8 trillion dollars a year. Overall, this trip was amazing and would 100% recommend to anyone slightly interested in visiting the UN.

Eighth grade from LREI visits the UN

Me and the fellow eighth grade from LREI visited the United Nations in NYC. This is one of or if not the most important buildings in New York City, this is where all the presidents meet to discuss wars and to maintain peace. Fun fact, the three big things that are inside of the UN are all donated by other countries. We were able to get this amazing tour because of our wonderful tour guide who showed us around the building. Throughout this whole tour, my topic of Gun Violence in NYC was brought up rarely, our tour guide talked about the military budgets, this stands at a staggering 1.8 trillion dollars a year. Overall, this trip was amazing and would 100% recommend to anyone slightly interested in visiting the UN.