The memorial that we decided on was one to commemorate school shootings in the United States. The U.S has been immensely affected by school shootings and it is unlike any other country. School shootings have almost become normalized in the United States, and there are barely any memorials for these tragic events. The memorial we are proposing would be relevant on a national scale because school shootings have occurred in states all over the US and it would be a significant one because families everywhere have lost loved ones due to school shootings yet there is not much being done to remember them.

The reason we have chosen to commemorate this specific topic is because similar to many other occurrences, the public forgets about them within 2-3 weeks if not sooner. We have chosen to have this memorial in the park to remind people of how many students have passed in America due to the heinous decisions of others. Hundreds, if not thousands of people pass through that park everyday. Having the monument there not only would capture the attention of the passerby, but cause them to really remember and think about just how many of our students are gone, from highschoolers, to even elementary kids. It is clear that the world only remembers those who are important throughout history, however, no one ever cares about the normal people in society unless it benefits them. This memorial would be of the people, for the people. 

Our memorial will include a large statue, six smaller statues, and a playground in dedication to all the lives lost and the countless school shootings in the country. The larger statue will consist of three children — of three different ages — to represent the types of schools that shootings most commonly affect: elementary schools students, middle schools, and high schools. In the center of the statue will be the eldest child holding the hands of the two younger children on both sides. These children will be on a pedestal engraved with names and dates of school shootings that happened in the United States. Because school shootings are not predicted to end in the foreseeable future, we plan on adding additional engravings each time a shooting happens. To increase public awareness of the frequentness of shootings and to enhance engagement with the memorial, there will be a public event for people to watch the engraving of another shooting. The smaller statues will be of items that belonged to the deceased children that were left behind after the shootings like backpacks, shoes, clothing, and other personal belongings. The material for the pedestals will be Parian marble, and the statues will be made of gold. Additionally, to elevate viewer engagement and noticeability, the statue will be placed at the top of the oval park, at the entrance to the playground, and the smaller statues will surround the perimeters of the oval park. The playground will be in the middle of the oval park and will be inclusive for kids of all ages and even parents. This playground will have the typical equipment such as slides, swings, monkey bars, see saws, and climbers. Overall, we hope that the statues and the playground will be able to reach everyone inside Madison Square Park

Our goal with the implementation of this monument is not only to commemorate the lives lost in school shootings throughout the US, we also want this to act as a turning point in the country where we start to look back at events that may be uncomfortable to address. School shootings are events that have occurred at high rates in the US and this is something that the US is not proud of and therefore it is quite uncomfortable to address these events when they occur. There are many other events in our country’s history that are often quickly hidden, for example the reconstruction era as a whole often goes un-talked about because although during this time there was a lot of progress this progress was eventually met with a lot of violence towards African American individuals. It is time that we begin to look back and accept the issues in our past and truly address these issues so that we are able to grow as a whole.

Work by Ardin Cobovic, Jonathan Ramirez, and Clara Tsang