BRUNSWICK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS march earlier this month in support of ending gun violence.
More than a month after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that left 17 dead, students across the country are rallying again to demand change.
Students from five Midcoast high schools will gather on the Brunswick Mall on Saturday to memorialize those killed by gun violence in solidarity with rallies all over the country.
“After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day, the surviving students asked to have March for Our Lives on March 24,” said Jackie Sartoris of Brunswick Area Indivisible, one of several groups sponsoring the march, “so this really originates with the Florida students who’ve become such passionate activists in the wake of that shooting.”
In addition, a walkout is scheduled to occur at some Regional School Unit 1 schools. A Morse High School walkout was originally scheduled to coincide with a national walkout March 14, exactly one month after the Parkland shooting. That was postponed after RSU 1 schools were closed due to a snowstorm. A walkout is now rescheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Morse High School and Woolwich Central School.
March for Our Lives
On Saturday, students from Brunswick, Freeport, Mt. Ararat and Morse high schools, as well as community members from the surrounding area, will gather on the Mall from 11-11:45 a.m. Prior to that, students from Topsham will congregate at 10:30 a.m. on the Topsham side of the Frank Wood Memorial Bridge. From there they will march into Brunswick and to the gazebo, where they will join the other students at the rally.
“We will be joined by students from all four area high schools,” said Sartoris. “The students really have embraced this activism with a lot of seriousness, particularly because of the experiences they’ve had at Mt. Ararat with the threats and scares.”
Sartoris said that students took the lead with organizing the march, and most of the speakers Saturday will be students.
Each of the 18 large trees lining the Mall will display memorials to the victims of the Florida shooting created by Mt. Ararat students.
“It’s an uplifting and humbling experience to work with the area high school kids,” said Sartoris. “It’s been a real coming together of the kids throughout our area.”
nstrout@timesrecord.com
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