Local Students Observe Moment of Silence for Connecticut Victims

SANTA BARBARA – Schools throughout California went silent at exactly 9:30 Friday morning, at the request of Governor Jerry Brown. Connecticut’s Governor Daniel Malloy made the nationwide request to honor the 26 lives lost in Newtown, Connecticut a week ago today.Santa Barbara Junior High School Principal Lito Garcia introduced the moment with an announcement, “Together we will carry on and make our country worthy of their memory.”Eighth grade students in Kareem Battle’s history class spent the moment with their own thoughts, then reflected on last week’s school tragedy.One student asked if detectives ever found out the reason behind the rampage. Another wondered, why did the 20-year-old gunman have hundreds of bullets with him? One boy pondered how *he* would react in that situation. Many of the students still reeling from the violence found the moment of silence somewhat healing. “It sort of relieves some weight off your shoulders, but it still makes it really hard,” Cousteau Christopher told KEY News. “Makes me want to cry, actually.”Battle, who is also the father of two young sons, believes the silent tribute helped open up a dialogue. “Kids sometimes won’t bring issues like this up because it scares them. So this shows that it’s comfortable and we’re willing to talk about it. They can talk to me, parents, family, anybody…they need to share.”