On Dec. 2, the Sandy Hook Promise organization released their PSA “Evan” on YouTube. If you haven’t seen it, Evan, a high school boy, writes to a mystery girl on a library desk. The two talk about summer, and possibly meeting up. Their relationship is cut short when the library closes before he has the chance to find out who she is. Alas, Evan finds her after signing her friend’s yearbook, and she is able to identify his handwriting. They begin to talk when a door opens and a student is seen cocking and aiming a gun.

The video is shocking. The school shooting comes out of nowhere then the video flashes back to all the scenes with Evan and his mystery girl.

In the background, the school shooter is seen reading a book about guns, watching gun videos, giving the middle finger to a classmate, being bullied, using his fingers to play-shoot his teacher, and even posting a picture on Instagram of him pointing the gun at the camera with the caption “see you guys tomorrow.” The PSA is trying to encourage students to keep their eyes wide open for signs of potential gun violence, and shows that while “you were paying attention to Evan, you missed the signs.”

There are major issues with the message. It creates a stereotype for a school shooter: a passive individual who is bullied. While it does teach students to keep their eyes open for warning signs, it also gives them a reason to stereotype isolated individuals into the “school shooter” category.
One of the major signs that the video identifies for gun violence is a “strong fascination or obsession with firearms.” Students should be able to show an interest in what they please, as long as it is legal, without being suspect to criminal activity.

However, one thing to recognize is that all of these signs should be viewed holistically; a student showing all of these signs could be a threat, whereas a student showing one of these signs should not fall victim to the stereotype.

Sandy Hook Promise is an organization founded by family members of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Their mission is to “prevent gun-related deaths due to crime, suicide and accidental discharge so that no other parent experiences the senseless, horrific loss of their child.” While the organization has a great mission, the PSA itself does not connect completely to their situation.

The incident at Sandy Hook Elementary was not done by a student. There were no “signs” to look out for. On the other hand, the situation of the shooting shouldn’t matter. If the organization’s mission is to make sure that no parent loses their child, the PSA accomplishes its goal well.

Ultimately, the PSA leaves the viewer thinking. It’s grabbed the attention of many, with over three million views on YouTube. Whether the message is flawed or not, a PSA’s main goal is to raise awareness for a certain issue, and “Evan” does just that.