Florida students’ movement is growing
Advocates for change a month after tragedy
Just a few weeks ago, Jaclyn Corinwas dreading herAPbiology test. Now, the 17- year- old high school junior is at the vanguard of a student movement rocking the nation.
It has been one month since the shooting in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14 that took the lives of 17 of Corin’s classmates and teachers. But from the tragedy, she and other students rose up and have become advocates who say they won’t stop until their demands are met.
Between schoolwalkouts— a nationwide one is plannedWednesday — letter- writing campaigns and marches planned in every state, a new generation has taken the reins in the debate about firearms, gun violence and school safety. And they say this is just the beginning.
“This shooting was a horrible tragedy,” Corin says. “But we can’t just be sorry and dwell in the sadness. We have to try to make change, and we have to honor the 17 people we lost. We have to do this, and we will.”
Corin and about 20 others, who rally around the message of # Never Again, have seemingly surprised everyone. Last month, the students were huddling under desks as a gunman terrorized their school. Now, they’re battling the National Rifle Association on national television and planning a march set to attract 500,000 people later this month.
Within the four weeks of the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the efforts have led to change, and the movement shows no signs of ebbing:
❚ Students across the country are planning to walk out of their schools Wednesday at 10 a. m.— marking one month since the attack in Florida. Students at more than 2,500 schools are planning to participate.
❚ A march is scheduled for March 24 in Washington, D. C., that will bring an estimated 500,000 people to the city. More than 580 sister marches are planned. Every state has at least one march, and events are planned throughout Europe and as far away as India and Japan.
❚ Also on March 24, students in Wisconsin are planning to hold a four- day march to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s hometown, Janesville. Organizers say they hope the 50- mile march will urge Ryan to enact changes in gun laws.
❚ Another round of school walkouts is planned April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting that left 13 dead. More than 250,000 people have signed a petition to participate.
❚ The students have used their newfound following on social media to single out companies that had partnerships with the NRA. In the past four weeks, more than a dozen companies have cut ties with the NRA.
❚ Florida lawmakers passed a bill last week that took on school safety and guns, including raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21. Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law Friday.
❚ Students are writing letters to elected officials and signing petitions that aim to curb sales of high- powered rifles, including the AR- 15, a rifle that has been used in many of the nation’s deadliest shootings.
Merrit Jones, an executive director at Student Voice, a non- profit dedicated to helping empower students to make change, says others seeing the changes and the attention given to this effort is helping pave the way for a new group of student advocates across the country.
“These students have been inspiring to watch, and even if other students don’t necessarily agree with their cause, many feel more willing to speak out and get involved,” Jones says. “I think everyone will be even more shocked in the future.”
Not everyone is behind the same message. Kyle Kashuv, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, doesn’t believe gun control is the right answer and says he’s sticking up for the Second Amendment. He has clashed with classmates over thoughts on the NRA and high- powered rifles.
“They want to be activists,” he said on Twitter. “Activism is great, but gun control justwon’t pass in this government and should NEVER pass.”
Corin says she wants more young people to get involved even if they disagree with her stance on issues. Since the shooting, she hasn’t let much slow her down. She spends her free time at an office she and the others set up to plan this month’s March for Our Lives.