Our hearts are broken over the tragic deaths of nineteen elementary school children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, May 24th, 2022. It comes less than two weeks after a shooter at Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, left ten people dead. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families in Uvalde, and Buffalo, and families across the United States who have lost loved ones to gun violence. But thoughts and prayers are not enough. Our national leaders must take action to keep our communities – and our children – safe from gun violence.

Access to firearms must come with restrictions. Our legislators in Washington D.C. must act to curb easy access to guns, which will save lives and avoid these tragedies that are far too common. We call upon the United States Senate to consider HR-8, a bipartisan bill that passed the House in 2019 and again in 2021, which would require background checks for those wanting to purchase guns. You can contact members of the U.S. Senate to voice your demands here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm.

We get emotional thinking about the children in Uvalde. Remember that Peralta Community College District has counseling services available for both students and employees. Students can access mental health services via campus health services. For links to your campus contact, visit https://www.peralta.edu/health-services/. Peralta employees have access to free, confidential counseling -including grief counseling- through our Employee Assistance Program administered by MHN. Please call MHN toll-free at 1-800-535-4985, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; TDD callers can dial 1-800-327-0801.

In Solidarity,

Dr. Jannett N. Jackson, Interim Chancellor, Peralta Community College District

Dr. Angélica Garcia, President, Berkeley City College

Dr. Nathaniel Jones III, President, College of Alameda

Dr. Rudy Besikof, President, Laney College

Dr. David M. Johnson, President, Merritt College