On Thursday, February 14th, it will mark a year since the tragic shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Highschool in Parkland, Florida. Former student, Nikolas Cruz went on a shooting rampage in the high school, killing 17 people, and injuring another 17. The incident caused an uproar among students and families and sparked debates about gun control laws. 

Since the shooting, students from across the country have worked together in an attempt to end school shootings. Three days after the incident, a campaign called ‘Never Again MSD’ emerged to fight for stricter gun control. This campaigned inspired students all over the United States to take part in a school walkout on March 14th, 2018; It has become one of the largest student demonstrations in US history.  

Additionally, over hundreds of thousands of people took part in March for Our Lives, which was held on March 24th, 2018 in Washington DC. Because of the incident, there was a spike in the registration of young voters, with about 800,000 people registering to vote on National Voter Registration Day. 

Laws have also been passed in response to the shooting: Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public High School Act of March 2018 banned the sale and possession of bump stocks, which turns assault rifles into machine guns. They were first outlawed in Florida, then became a national ban; any bump stocks that already exist must be destroyed. Bump stocks were not involved in the Parkland shooting, but the incident prompted the ban. Bump stocks were used in other mass shootings, including the 2017 Las Vegas massacre. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas act also raised the minimum age to buy an AR-15 to 21, and there is now a 3-day waiting period to purchase a rifle.  

The Red Flag Law, which was previously passed in only 5 other states was also passed in Florida. This legislation allows law enforcement to confiscate guns from people who show violent behavior with court approval first. Before the law was enacted, guns were only taken from violent people who were ruled mentally ill by the court.  

OCSA’s March for Our Lives club, ran by senior drama major, Molly Lavoie, is hosting a tribute to the 17 lives that were lost in the shooting in the courtyard on February 14th. Molly says that she wanted to make a celebration and remembrance of the lives lost rather than focusing on the perpetrator. “I wanted this to be a celebration of who they were and what they stood for. I don’t ever want them to be forgotten.” 

These are the lives that were lost on February 14th, 2018: 

• Alyssa Alhadeff, 14 
• Scott Beigel, 35 
• Martin Duque Anguiano, 14 
• Nicholas Dworet, 17 
• Aaron Feis, 37 
• Jaime Guttenberg, 14 
• Chris Hixon, 49 
• Luke Hoyer, 15 
• Cara Loughran, 14 
• Gina Montalto, 14 
• Joaquin Oliver, 17 
• Alaina Petty, 14 
• Meadow Pollack, 18 
• Helena Ramsay, 17 
• Alex Schachter, 14 
• Carmen Schentrup, 16 
• Peter Wang, 15 

The Broward County school district has named Thursday a day of service and love, and students are welcome to take part in different services like packing food for kids in need and serving breakfast to first responders. Broward County will also hold a moment of silence at 10:17 am for the 17 lives that were lost.