Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
At UCF, Stoneman Douglas alumni run race to offer aid
When Ross Rosenzweig is asked about his partially bleached hair, he’s quick to tell the story of how he and his friend Joaquin Oliver stunned their classmates with it at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“We called him Guac,” said Rosenzweig, who will soon transfer to UCF from Florida Gulf Coast University. “We bleached our hair together and people [at school] were so surprised. After he was killed, the whole school bleached their hair and that was awesome.”
At UCF Sunday morning, there was reminiscing and remembering by alumni from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Parkland school where 17 were killed on Valentine ’s Day.
About 120 runners, as well as volunteers and spectators, donned maroon — the school’s color — and gathered at Memory Mall for a Race for Remembrance 5K in hopes of raising money to help the school get back on its feet.
Many of the runners were former students, while others used to teach there and some just supported the cause.
“We’re just trying to raise money for the school, both the emotional and physical rebuilding,” said Hannah Santo, a 2013 Douglas alumna who helped organize the race. “Being in Orlando, we know that it takes a while for people to heal.”
Planning began days after the February shooting.
Central Florida alumni met and mobilized to figure out a plan of action to help the school and students recover.
They knew there was a need for counseling and support for the surviving students and teachers, and also a financial need for the campus.
Alumni efforts have reached various corners of the world, with a Facebook group of alumni surpassing 13,000 members, allowing for far reaching communication. About 30 leaders of regional alumni groups chat weekly by phone to help discuss and organize further fundraising and advocacy for stricter gun laws.
While several current students of the school have led a vocal movement in calling for stricter gun laws by organizing March for our Lives events across the country, others have found ways to contribute without venturing into the political debate — be it partial proceeds events at restaurants, benefit shows and races like the one Sunday at UCF.
“Gun control is just a portion of it,” said Michael Parker, who helps run a Facebook page for Central Florida alumni. “If you don’t want to be a part of the gun control effort, there is more than one pillar … we don’t want to alienate anybody.”
Rosenzweig came to the run because his brother Max helped organize it, and it was a chance to be around others who were coming to grips with a tragedy that had hit so close to home.
He still remembers a text he sent to Oliver when news of the shooting began to surface. The message was never answered, and it wasn’t until the following day that he learned his friend had been killed.
Now, he keeps a photo of the two of them as the background on his phone and has maintained his blonde hair as a tribute.
“Any one person that does anything means a lot. It means the same as everybody who was at March for Our Lives in [Washington] D.C.,” Rosenzweig said. “Everything helps.”