More than 100 Syracuse University students will bus to Washington, D.C. at 2:30 a.m. Saturday to participate in the anti-gun violence March for Our Lives rally.

The protest comes as a response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On Monday, SU’s Student Association made 150 bus tickets available to students interested in attending the march, which was organized in part by MSD students. SA Vice President Angie Pati said that for her and President James Franco, providing busing to the march is about providing students with a service that will help them use their voice.

“James and I feel that even if you don’t believe in this cause, I think you can believe in the power of our generation in voicing what they feel passionately about,” Pati said.

Here are the stories of four SU students traveling to the march on the SA buses.

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Lara Hicks, a sophomore international relations major, is busing to the march to honor her political beliefs and a personal connection to the Parkland shooting. Hicks grew up in a town not far from Red Lake, Minnesota, where 10 people died in a school shooting in 2005.

While she was only a little kid at the time, Hicks has seen the lingering effects shootings can have on a town.

“My family knew people that went to that school, even though I didn’t, and it was years ago but it still has such a big effect on our communities,” Hicks said.

The sophomore is hopeful the march will bring about positive change. She said she believes her generation voicing their opinions is an opportunity to help.

“I think there’s been a lot of stagnant things that have happened between adults and the leadership roles that they’ve served in this country,” Hicks said. “The youth are really trying to make a difference since adults haven’t really been making that difference.”

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Patrick Linehan, a freshman policy studies and economics dual major, has been to marches in the past, but the March for Our Lives protest will be the largest he’s attended.

“I think it’s really cool how all these high schoolers are being very active in their government and demanding change in their government,” Linehan said. “I think that we as college kids have a responsibility to support their efforts.”

Linehan waited in line alone on Monday for a bus ticket to the march. He said many of his friends are busy this weekend and can’t make it, but that isn’t stopping him from going.

He added that he thinks SU “isn’t necessarily the most politically active campus,” and he’s glad SA has decided to support this cause and political movement by providing busing.

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Tess Harper, a sophomore social work major, planned on going to the march the moment she heard about it. When she learned about the bus trip through SU’s chapter of Democracy Matters — a group promoting campaign finance reform that is co-sponsoring the trip — she bought a ticket as soon as she could. Her mother, sister and aunt are attending the march, too.

Harper has never attended a large march, but her aunt attended the D.C. Women’s March in January and told Harper it was a great experience. Harper is anticipating the same for her trip from SU to D.C. to march near the Capitol.

Harper said that since students are affected by gun violence, it’s important their voices are heard.

“We are the future, we are the people who are going to be making laws,” she said. “We are currently the constituents, and I think so many of us want gun control and our representatives are not really listening, so I think it’s really important that we get the message out very loud and clear.”

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Annelise Hackett, a freshman public relations major, originally planned on attending the satellite March for Our Lives in Syracuse at the Everson Museum of Art, but when she heard about the SA bus trip, she was on board. Gun control is a topic she’s passionate about, she said.

“With the Parkland shooting, I think we saw a significant change,” Hackett said. “In the past, it’s been in the news for a day and then people kind of stop talking about it. But with this they are really making strides for change, specifically legislative.”

She added that students should feel safe when they’re getting an education and shouldn’t have to worry about a shooting. Hackett couldn’t vote in the 2016 presidential election, but she’ll be able to vote in the next midterm and presidential elections, and she said gun control is an issue that will be on the forefront of her decisions.

The march is an opportunity for the younger generation to get involved, she said, and she hopes it’s a unifying experience that keeps the conversation going to enact legislative and social change.

Published on March 21, 2018 at 8:58 pm