Mar 19th, 2018, 04:31 PM

March for Our Lives: Preview

By Elizabeth Nguyen Son
Around 4000 high school students walked out of school and marched to the Minnesota capitol in St. Paul to demand that legislators make changes to gun control laws on March 7th, 2018. Image Credit: Flickr/Fibonacci Blue
Come support the survivors of the Parkland school shooting at the standing rally this Saturday, 24 March 2018.

In wake of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many high school students have come together to demand stricter gun control with the #NeverAgain movement. March for Our Lives is a planned demonstration organized by some of these young survivors that will take place on 24 March 2018 in Washington D.C.

Recently there was a call for sister marches not only around the nation but around the world. March for Our Lives Paris will be taking place on the same day. A coordinator of March for Our Lives Paris, Caitlin Waters, recently came to talk with the Undergraduate Student Council (USC) to ask for support.

March for Our Lives Paris has put together a pre-rally Evening of Action this Thursday, March 22 starting at 7:00 PM at The American Church in Paris. The evening will consist of guest speakers, music, and activities such as poster-making and voting registration. They need you to bring materials and supplies to make posters, stamps to send letters to U.S. legislators, or food or drinks to share. Any small contribution will make a difference - even just a stamp or two. If you cannot make it to the Evening of Action but would still like to contribute supplies, please bring them up to the SGA office on the 3rd floor of Combes. Jasmine Paul, the USC Vice-President, will be attending the evening and bringing the donated supplies to the event.

Most importantly, in solidarity with those who will be marching in Washington D.C., March for Our Lives Paris has planned a standing rally at Place du Trocadéro this Saturday, March 24 that will start at 2:30 PM and end at 5:00 PM. AUP students are encouraged to meet in front of Combes at 2:00 PM, where Alfio Lococo and myself will be to lead the group to Place du Trocadéro. For more details on the meeting point, please contact us me at usc_communications@aup.edu.

 

#iwillmarch this Saturday in Washington DC. Will you? #marchforourlives

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The March for Our Lives movement has grown globally at an alarming speed, showing the overwhelming support to end gun violence. Many celebrities have been using their position of influence to talk about gun control. Lin-Manuel Miranda, most well known for the music he composed for Moana as well as starring and composing in the Broadway musical, Hamilton, and Ben Platt, also famous in the Broadway community and for his role in the Pitch Perfect movies, sang a song together called "Found Tonight", a mash-up of Hamilton's "The Story of Tonight" and Dear Evan Hansen's "You Will Be Found". A portion of the proceeds from the record will be going to the March For Our Lives Initiative.

Jake Paul also uploaded a video on YouTube last week on 12 March called "It's Time to End School Shootings". The video follows him on his trip to Parkland to talk to MSD survivors and their families. He discusses what he learned from his time with them, includes interviews with politicians such as Marco Rubio to understand different sides of the gun control debates, and announces that he will be sending two buses to Washington D.C. for the march this Saturday.