March For Our Lives
By Grace Cedeno
Sociology of Protest and Activism - Spring 2023
On February 14th, 2018, a tragedy struck that shook the entire world. 19-year-old Nicholas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and changed countless lives forever. With an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, he murdered 17 individuals and injured 17 more. It has been reported that Cruz had displayed many questionable behaviors over the years and that these behaviors could be a result of an uncommon upbringing.
In the wake of this violent nightmare, a conversations parked, lit by the youth of our society. Gen Z has come together in a show of unity, to urge politicians to make moves in the gun control field. Described by some as the generation of school shooting survivors, students of this age quickly became vocal in person and on social media. Two survivors of this specific shooting, David Hogg and X Gonzalez, have drawn lots of attention for their bravery and outspokenness. From this change in conversation, March for Our Lives was born.
There were roughly thirty founders that brought about the rise of gun control activism, among them being:
Sofie Whitney
Sarah Chadwick
Sam Deitsch
Ryan Servaites
Ryan Deitsch
Matt Deitsch
Lauren Hogg
Kirsten McConnell
Kevin Trejos
Kaylyn Pipitone
John Barnitt
Daniel Williams
David Hogg
Delaney Tarr
Diego Pfeiffer
Dylan Baierlein
Emma Gonzalez
Jackie Corin
Jammal Lemy
Brendan Duff
Alfonso Calderon
Bradley Thornton
Adam Alhanti
Cameron Kasky
Alex Wind
Charlie Mirsky
Chris Grady
Daniel Duff
The March for Our Lives movement really kickstarted the conversation regarding gun control on social media. As a member of Gen Z myself, I recall that this point in time (2018) was a period where most people my age were finding their own voice on social media, and forming their own opinions regarding politics as well. According to MarchForOurLives.Com, "We spurred a historic youth turnout in the 2018 midterm elections, with a 47% increase over the last midterm election and the highest percentage of youth voter turnout ever."