On Feb. 14, 2018 a school shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. 17 students were found dead and 17 more were wounded. A group of students decided to speak up against the ongoing debate about guns and make sure their classmates stories were not silenced.

March For Our Lives started on March 24 , 2018 when the activists came together and marched in Washington. This march included David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, Jaclyn Corin, Ryan Deitsch, and many more. Many of the activists taking part in this organization attended Stoneman Douglas on Feb 14, 2018.

“I stood in a closet for roughly three hours unaware of whether or not I would exit that confined space with my life. Thankfully I did but several of my sister’s friends and my classmates did not,” said Ryan Deitsch, March For Our Lives activist.

Deitsch explained that this traumatic event caused many long term implications concerning the mental health and well being for students at the school.

“In the long term there will most likely be reduction in overall performance including test scores. The kids have limited access to mental health care even though they have it better than most, it is not nearly enough. The trauma is still fresh for many who still attend the school” said Deitsch.

A student named Daniel Duff attended school on Feb 14 and currently is still a student at Stoneman Douglas today. Duff re-experiences the tragedy nearly every day and is reminded of the seven classmates he knew personally along one teacher he lost.

“Joining March For Our Lives was certainly a coping mechanism for my friends and I. We realized that we could no longer cry with a broken community, and that we needed a strong change in our federal and state gun legislation, and fast. This had to be done before another community ended up like ours,” said Duff.

Maia Hebron was one student that experienced the fear of her freshman sister hiding in one of the classrooms that was shot into. Hebron waited anxiously for her sister and suffers from the post-traumatic effects of it today.

“It is important to know that Stoneman Douglas is an A-rated school, is located in one of the safest cities in the world, and carries intelligent and incredible students. Yet, thousands of us had our innocence taken, proving that something this traumatic can truly happen anywhere,” said Hebron.

Many of the activists, including Daniel Duff and Ryan Deitsch explained that the purpose of their organization is not to take away guns. Their main goal is to simply take the wrong guns out of the wrong people’s hands and keep these victims stories alive. If you are not old enough to vote, you can still participate in rallies, calling your senators and representatives, and organizing events to get your voice heard.

“Don’t give up,” said Duff. “If you believe in something, keep fighting for it. At times you may feel majorly discouraged because no one seems to be listening. Activism is not easy, but if you keep fighting, you will prevail”.