BY ELLIE FEUERSTEIN, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD--South Carolina had a very devastating year in 2015 that lead to all South Carolinians to join together as one.
On June 17, 2015, nine people lost their lives in a mass shooting in Charleston. The shooter was a man who was allegedly racist against African-Americans.
This brought in a hard debate on whether the Confederate Flag should continue flying on the State House grounds. This debate caused lots of ruckus and separated South Carolinians.
On Oct. 4, 2015, South Carolina experienced a historic flood that brought the state together again.
This “1,000 Year Flood” killed 17 people with more than 1,000 roads and bridges destroyed.
Hundreds of houses were damaged and destroyed that left many families and people without homes.
With these devastating events, South Carolina came together to help each other. By this, South Carolina created the hashtag “#SCstrong”.
#SCstrong is a trend that South Carolinians from all over the state have created to help victims of the devastating events and to bring everyone together.
“SC Strong is an organization that symbolizes the way South Carolina reacts to tragic events in our state. It symbolizes the strength we have as a state and our ability to arise from these awful happenings stronger than ever,” sophomore Matthew Owens said .
With these not very pleasant events, South Carolinians handled it with strength.
“I was struck by the capacity for forgiveness by the victims families in Charleston. Their reaction and ability to forgive allowed our state to handle a horrific event with grace and dignity,” State House worker, Debbie Barthe said.
South Carolinians were very surprised by these events and it was hard to comprehend what was happening in their personal communities.
“The most difficult piece was truly comprehending what our fellow community members went through in our neighboring districts. They really took the brunt of the flood and it was hard for our students to grasp the magnitude of the situation,”BHS Principal Dr. Hafner said.
Throughout the year of 2015, South Carolinians couldn’t comprehend just the devastating events, but also all the support that South Carolina received.
“Something that was surprising to me about SC Strong was how much support it received. I knew that it would receive support from all pockets of the state, but I never imagined the immense amount of people who would come to support, some even coming from other states,” Owens said.
As these events have taken place, Blythewood has contributed to #SCstrong and has helped the community.
“Different groups of the student population volunteered at flood shelters as soon as the event occurred. A number of students and staff volunteered in assisting in the clean up efforts. There were supply raising efforts on campus by certain houses and the adoption of the White Family during our Holiday Wishes campaign,” Dr. Hafner said.
With people from all over the state helping one another, the people of the state house are also trying to help South Carolina.
“The chambers seem to be trying to work together to find common ground to solve problems for the state. The recent tragedies have put a new perspective on what can happen in our state and what is really important,” Barthe said.
By standing together, South Carolina came to realize how much they need each other in times of need.
“SC Strong is important because it is something for South Carolinians to gather around and to raise state pride,” Owens said.
Throughout hard and tough times, South Carolina has put on a show for the world and has shown how strong they are.
“SC strong shows the best of us,” Barthe said.
#SCstrong has banded South Carolinians together to help each other in need. It will continue until South Carolina is put together again but until then South Carolinians will remember the hard times and focus on what they have today.
“SC Strong is how the citizens of SC band together after a tragic event - whether it is the horrible shooting in a church in Charleston or unprecedented flooding around the state. These events made us realize how lucky we are and how we should always try to give back,” Barthe said.
