A
year into leading the March for Our Lives rallies in Arizona, where
calls for stronger gun control fell mostly on deaf ears, Induja Kumar,
17, and her fellow student organizers decided to try something
different. They started demanding more school counselors. Their initial
pitch last year to lower Arizona's student-to-counselor ratio —
currently the highest in the nation at 905-to-1 — centered on
stabilizing the mental health of young people as a way to prevent gun
violence. But with schools closed until at least fall, and students
statewide dealing with the emotional toll of a global pandemic, Kumar
said she believes the successful fight for more counselors couldn't have
come at a better time.
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