Seven empowered Nashoba students arrived in Washington D.C. last Friday for the March For Our Lives rally that took place the following day March 24th, 2018. The group of students consisted of Seniors Alida Austin, Hannah King, Emily McManus, Sarah Newton, Colby Storey, and Sophomores Anna Austin and Abbey McManus. Alida, King, Newton and Storey all attended the Inauguration trip last  year where they also attended the Women’s March. The Women’s March was one of the deciding factors that brought them down to D.C. again for this movement.

On the way to Washington D.C. the group was interviewed by a member of Channel 7 Boston’s Brendon Gunnoe.  Seniors Sarah Newton and Alida Austin took some time to talk to the news agency and their interview was later broadcast on Channel 7 ahead of the march on Washington.

On Saturday morning at 10:00 am an excited group headed out to the rally and made their way all the way up to 4th street not far from the stage which was situated on 3rd street. The group found their spot right next to a jumbo tron where they were able to see a glimpse of the stage and got ready for an inspiring day.

The march was full of positive people with well written signs, and thoughtful speakers and performers. The March was fully run by the students from Parkland, the MSD high school.The speakers kept repeating the importance for teenagers to register to vote and for all of those eligible to make their voices heard during the mid-term elections this November.

There were thousands of students, teachers, and others at the rally in D.C. and rallies all around the nation. According the March For Our Lives Rally there were over 800 rallies that took place all over the world on March 24th. According to MSNBC there were over 850,000 people at the rally in D.C..

The group from Nashoba was able to talk to a few people from the local area of Washington D.C., and ended up talking to someone who was a former teacher in the area. She told them that “I’m so proud of you’re generation, you’re really going to do it”. After talking with many people they mostly had the same general thoughts of how proud they were of the younger generation and for the difference they are trying to make.

The rally took place from 12:00pm until 3:00pm, and it was full of inspiring and tearful moments throughout. Many Parkland survivors came out to speak about how recent events have affected them. Students who were impacted by the Sandy Hook shooting spoke and showed the banner that they made to help the students from Parkland begin to heal, which is what the students of Columbine did for them. It was an amazing sign of solidarity between the two schools and communities.

There was a lot of emphasis on how the march was intended to be a non-partisan event; it is about safety and not about supporting one party over another one. There was no talk about party identification, and one of the speakers stated something along the lines of this isn’t a red or a blue issue, this is a moral issue.

One student from Parkland, Cameron Kasky, stated “The fight begins today and it will not end until we get what we need”. It was apparent on the day or March 24th that students have the ability to start something important.

The Nashoba students were able to donate $200 to Everytown organization for Gun Safety in their names. According to Everytowns website “Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence”. The students didn’t want to go down to the movement just for the march, they wanted to go down as part of the movement and begin to make a difference.