AMES, Iowa- The Christian Petersen Art Museum at Iowa State University is opening up a new exhibit in light of the recent Parkland Florida shooting where 17 people lost their lives. It's an event that people like Eric Wierson, of Ames, says he is still feeling the impact.
“Numb, It keeps happening, so in all honesty I feel like it will continue to happen without any reaction to stopping the other end of it with gun access,” said Wierson.
Wierson says without change he fears incidents like this will happen again.
“Las Vegas becomes the next one, Florida, and I feel like there is another one probably around the bend,” he said.
Even for those like Savanna Falter, the school shooting is impacting her school life.
“After any of the school shootings it has been a bit difficult to get up and go to class,” Falter said. “Being at a large university, you’re not sure who is carrying a gun and what their specific stances are.”
That is why those with Christian Petersen Art Museum set up the interactive event featuring pictures of many of the recent school shootings - a memorial - all to give people like Wierson a place to make their voices heard.
“We find these events tragic and we don’t want people to continue to feel this way,” she said. “It’s imperative that we aren’t silent.”
Another power statement in the exhibit is 17 balloons that are meant to represent the birthdays those who died will never have again. Over the next couple of weeks, those balloons will lose helium and start to deflate with the artist’s intention of showing that no change will happen.
"You can only talk about it so much,” said Wierson. “I think actions need to come in to play. People need to write their legislator or hold rallies.”