Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland - Glimmer of hope: how tragedy sparked a movement

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First published in the United States of America by Razorbill and Dutton, imprints of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018

Copyright 2018 March For Our Lives Action Fund

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To those on the side of peace and justice.

To those who were told they were too young to demand a better world.

To those we lost.

To those who have found hope.

ON FEBRUARY 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was the site of one of the worst mass shootings in American history, in which seventeen students and teachers were killed and seventeen more were injured.

At 2:21, the shooter entered building 1200, known to students as the freshman building. The shooting lasted six minutes. He was apprehended a few hours later.

Instead of dwelling on the pain and tragedy of that fateful day, a group of inspiring young students channeled their feelings of hurt, rage, and sorrow into action, and went on to create one of the largest youth-led movements in global history. Their march on Washington, DC, attracted almost a million people and inspired more than eight hundred marches around the world. Today, theyre leading a youth voter registration and engagement campaign called Road to Change.

This is their story.

Lauren Hogg and Sam Deitsch

NOT ANOTHER NUMBER

Just another day,

Not another number.

Taking action to prevent another.

As we sit hand in hand,

We realize losing friends at school is hard to understand.

Just another day,

Not another number.

The booms in the hallways are not thunder.

Minute by minute we sit in the silence,

Wondering why we must endure this violence.

Continuously attempting to suppress our screams,

Realizing this is something we never could have imagined in the worst of our dreams.

Just another day,

Not another number.

As we run with our hands raised above our heads we begin to wonder,

What if not another?

We decided in that moment we could make this end,

and then maybe finally as a community, a country, a nation we could begin to mend.

Not shocked at all, it makes perfect sense,

our countrys leaders created this mess.

Rounds and rounds of ammunition,

register and vote to make a decision

As you make your way to the polls please dont just vote red or blue,

but vote for our friends who will never get the chance to.

Cameron Kasky

FEBRUARY 14

I do not need to tell you what happened on February 14. The tragic events that took place at my school are something far too many people know damn well. That story is one of great importance, and looking at our school systems failure to prevent this tragedy is vital in preventing future mass school shootings, but that is not the story I am here to tell. The story I can tell you in great, effective detail is one of overcoming trauma and helplessness, and mobilizing a country that has been through all of this, and failed to take action, far too many times. I am here to tell you how my friends and I ran out of school and, within hours, created and executed a plan to shine a light on just how rigged our system is and just how apathetic our politicians can be.

After evacuating school that day, I found myself on a city bus that was being used to transport students in this state of emergency. I was with the special needs students because, as the shooting occurred, I had just picked up my autistic little brother, Holden, at the ESE (Exceptional Student Education) dismissal. On that bus, I did my best not only to text my friends and confirm that they had made it out of school alive, but also to make sure Holden was okay. As one could imagine, he hadnt truly grasped what had happened... though hardly anybody did, whether or not they shared Holdens optimistic and untainted view of the world.

Holden and I and the other students arrived at the Marriott Hotel right by our school, where the police began to question everyone, and we called our parents to pick us up. Holden was more confused than Ive ever seen him. My phone was losing battery, the room was crowded, and we were anxiously awaiting my fathers arrival. I was very glad to see some teachers and friends arrive, as I hadnt known until I saw them that they had made it. As soon as we were released, my father drove Holden and me home, and I suddenly felt a terrible feeling. I had finally realized what had happened.

When I was locked in the room at school with the special needs students, wondering whether or not I would make it out, I had three things on my mind: survival, Holdens well-being, and the fear that my friends in other classes were no longer alive. On the way to the Marriott, I only thought about my mother and having to tell her what happened, as she was out of town. It wasnt until I sat down in my fathers car, knowing that my brother and at least most of my close friendsthe ones who hadnt lost their phones and were able to textwere alive, that the thought came upon me: this whole time, I had been way too comfortable. Now, my reality was becoming clear. I knew that I was part of a flavor-of-the-month mass school shooting. The fact that I could easily identify this phenomenon speaks volumes for just how common this is and just how desensitized we have been to these horrific acts. As my dad, Holden, and I got closer and closer to home that night, only six words were present in my mind: