![Two girls carry bags filled with clothes and supplies they gathered from the Westwood Recreation Center, one of the many facilities serving as an evacuation shelter during the fires. Marco Huitron, a volunteer at the center, said that he is willing to help and give back to the community. “The integrity, the love and the honor that we have here on the Westside — West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Palisades, Venice, just literally on the coast side — it just has given us such a good family and community feel that it’s only within my want [to help],” Huitron said. “Help is everything that we need, especially in these times.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/two-girls-1200x800.jpg)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
One dead in Louisiana. Two in Illinois. It’s been less than a month into 2025 and the words “mass shooting” have once again begun to dominate national headlines. Rather than celebrating the new year, communities have spent it grieving.
The issue of gun violence in the United States is not new. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), firearm-related injuries have been the leading cause of death for children since 2022. As debates surrounding gun reform continue to circle the desks of politicians in Washington, Staples students have begun combating the issue head on here in Westport.
Desiring the chance to make a direct impact at a local level, co-presidents Logan Noorily ’25 and Aidan Lapatine ’26 reinstated Staples’ chapter of Students Demand Action (SDA) in 2023.
“I wanted to make real-time changes that could [make] my own school safer,” Lapatine said. “We are not trying to reinvent the wheel with legislation or amendments.”
A student-led nonprofit, Students Demand Action advocates for safer gun policies, with the ultimate goal of ending gun violence in the United States. As one of the organization’s more than 700 chapters, the Staples branch hopes to bring their message to the greater Westport community.
“Coming from a community so connected to Sandy Hook, students have to be a part of the conversation since gun violence can impact our everyday [lives],” Noorily said.
Since its reinstatement, the club has undertaken multiple initiatives, all focused on the importance of taking safe storage measures.
“I believe that we can not sit by and watch shooting after shooting without taking action,” Lapatine said.
In collaboration with the Westport Police Department, Noorily and Lapatine worked to write a letter addressed to parents of students in the Westport Public School System. The letter focused on the importance of secure gun storage and fostering discussions with kids about the dangers of firearms.
“We hope that the community as a whole as well as parents and educators take on the role of educating,” Westport PD Administrative Lieutenant Eric Woods said. “The topic[s] of gun violence and school threats [are] important.”
The club’s work doesn’t stop there. In November 2024, Lapatine and Noorily, along with other members of Staples Students Demand Action, handed out free gun locks to residents in Downtown Westport.
“We want to [make] small changes within our community, with the hope that other towns and states will follow suit,” Lapatine said.
With the uptick of school shooting threats in Westport, including the recent incident at Greens Farms Elementary School, the club’s efforts have become even more essential in opening conversations among local state legislators in addressing the public health epidemic that is gun violence.
“Clubs [like Students Demand] help complement the district’s broader efforts to promote a safe and informed school environment,” Westport Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said.
In the future, Noorily and Lapatine intend to increase the club’s engagement, hoping to strengthen their message through the voices of more members. The club meets once a month on Tuesdays in room 2038.
“Talking about gun violence is not political,” Noorily said, “and it has to be done.”
This story was originally published on Inklings on January 29, 2025.