Moore Students Hope Powerful Video Prevents School Violence

At Moore High School, students have been recognizing national “Say Something” Week. It’s in collaboration with the Sandy Hook Promise, created after the 2012 tragedy.

Thursday, the students signed their names and pledged to say something if they see something.

This came after a powerful video was shown in the school as part of the week’s projects. The video shows several students encouraging their peers to confide in them. “Say something. I’ve been there,” one student said in the video. “Say something to me. Life may not always be as perfect as it seems,” another added.

The week’s work is designed to spark discussions about how to recognize threats of potential violence and prevent people from harming themselves or others.

“So often we brush it aside like someone is trying to get attention or something when really, more often than not, it really is real,” Senior Emalee Barriss said.

“People will generally post things on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram saying, ‘Hey this is what’s going down, this is what I’m going to do.’ And it’s all preventable,” said Freshman Dalton Cagle.

Whether a signal appears on social media or just noticing someone having a tough time, school officials believe a conversation could prevent a crisis.

“Say something. Because your coaches really care about you,” said a Moore Schools staff member in the video. “Say something to me. I’ll listen,” another added.

“I used to be depressed and I know how it feels when it feels like you can’t talk to anybody and nobody is there and now I realize that people really are there for you and they really do care about you,” said Elizabeth Booth, freshman at Moore High.

And now more than ever, with threats at metro schools and all over the country, students can’t stress it enough - follow your gut feeling and potentially save lives.

“Our school is so great with people that listen. You could talk to anyone here. This is a safe place,” said Paige Melaina, sophomore at Moore High.

Moore police shared the video on its Facebook page and told News 9 they think it’s “pretty awesome.”