Adam Forest

When a friend last year asked Adam Forest , 18 , if he was going to school April 20 - the anniversary of Columbine -.

InterestedThe Take Back the 20th Rally will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in Old Town Square.
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It's time for students to take back their schools , Forest said.He and other Poudre School District students are asking the community to help them reclaim their schools from fear , anger and violence through the Take Back the 20th Rally on Friday.The student-organized effort is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. in Old Town Square.The community is invited to attend the rally to support student rights to learn , free of fear.Students shouldn't have to ask themselves if they are going to risk being attacked or shot , said Forest , PHS student body president and this school year's Youth Views columnist for the Coloradoan.Rarely are young people asked why they think youth violence happens , he said , but they are , in fact , the very ones who should be asked.The time to listen is now , before another incident happens rather than after , Forest said.When the potential for violence struck close to home , it opened a lot of eyes to the fact that violence can happen anywhere , he said.Earlier this year , three Preston Junior High School students were expelled and criminally charged with plotting what authorities called a Columbine-style attack on their school.Preston students later created their own group to deal with school violence - Unity.Members of the group , which focuses on students' commonalties rather than their differences , will be speaking at the rally.We were almost potential victims ( of school violence ) , said Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez , who will be speaking at the rally.That should be enough to push us to be proactive. ...We all need to put the fear behind us and work towards the positive..
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Forest said that's where the attention needs to be - on the positives.Everyone can name one of the Columbine killers , Forest noted , but , he asked , how many can name a victim.Students have a justified fear of going to school these days , Forest said , but they go because there are a lot of good things going on there.

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