NEAR SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSVN) – Hundreds of South Florida students are heading north by bus, past the Sunshine State, as they head to Washington D.C. for the March For Our Lives rally.
On Friday, five buses filled with 250 students, alumni, teachers and activists left from Coral Springs at around 11 a.m., ready to participate in a march to demand an end to gun violence and mass shootings in schools.
“I’m doing everything I can to support them,” said an alumnus.
“We want to support these students, these incredible students that have been so well-spoken, so poised,” said MSD teacher Carrae Cusano. “[They’re] so clear in what they want and what they’re fighting for.”
These riders are making a 16-hour journey to join the March For Our Lives movement in the nation’s capital.
“We’re the Columbine generation,” said teacher Thia Thomas. “I remember Columbine when I was in school. I was their age when Columbine happened, and if we had one-tenth of their reaction, then this wouldn’t have happened. We could’ve prevented this, and my generation failed these kids in that aspect, so I’m doing everything I can to support them.”
The 16-hour ride was organized by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School alumni, known as “Mobilizing MSD Online,” who got in touch with sponsors to help raise over $25,000 for the trip.
“I never really felt that sense of community, and I never really knew what it was about until this happened,” said MSD alumnus Nick Longley. “It’s amazing.”
On Feb. 14 Stoneman Douglas was the scene of a mass shooting by a former student who now awaits trial for taking 17 lives that day.
Now these riders are ready to show the world what it means to be “MSD strong.”
“It gives me a feel of what Douglas really is and how much of a community we actually are,” said alumnus Sabrina Yuen.
Friday evening, students stopped for a quick dinner break in Georgia. MSD alumnus Giovanna Yuen said the long journey will not affect their resolve.
“We’re still strong, and we’re still going,” she said. “We’re gonna make a change.”
“I hope to meet more people, more inspirational people who are with our case,” said MSD student Sabrina Yuen, “and hopefully politicians and lawmakers, and even the President, to listen to what we have said.”
Bus drivers will be driving straight through the night. They are expected to arrive in the nation’s capital at around 6:30 a.m.
After taking part in the march, these students plan to get right back on the buses and head back to South Florida.
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