“I don’t want my students to go to school in fear.”
“School almost feels like a war zone.”
“If we all band together, we can make change.”
Those were just a few of the sentiments captured by Education Week at the March for Our Lives on March 24 in Washington. The event, organized by students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., drew hundreds of thousands. People jammed Pennsylvania Avenue from near the White House to the Capitol, carrying signs that read “Never Again” and “Am I Next?”
We spoke with teachers and students who had travelled from around the country to show solidarity and, as one person put it, to see “power grow from pain.” Students spoke of being afraid to go to school, and teachers insisted they should not have to carry guns into the classroom. Despite years of congressional inaction on gun control, those at the rally were hoping that Parkland will prove to be the tipping point, and that this is a moment of change.
Christian Sayle, a 7th grader at a small private school in the District of Columbia, insisted student voices will be heard, even if not at the ballot box just yet.
Meghan Mertyris, a junior from Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, N.J, warned politicians, “Soon we’re going to be voting, so they had better get their act together quickly.”
Tampa, Fla., teacher Nicole Bates is an elementary school math specialist, and says it’s not right that her students have to learn to barricade a door.
Watch all our interviews with the students and educators in attendance at the march:
Related:
- ‘March for Our Lives’ Draws Massive Crowds Pushing for Tighter Gun Restrictions
- Will ‘March for Our Lives’ Win the Stricter Gun Laws Students Demand?
- Educators Say ‘No Way’ to Trump’s Suggestion of Arming Teachers
- For the Record: Not All Educators Oppose Arming Teachers, Staff
- The Parkland School Shooting: Complete Coverage