“Our generation needs to make this change, and we need to make it now,” said Riley Herendeen, a senior at Parker School in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island.
After being inspired by March For Our Lives for gun control in Washington and around the U.S., Herendeen and other seniors at the school—Kawena Ching, Lucy Callendar and Mathias Magliorini—have organized a march in Waimea.
On Saturday, March 24, 2018, at 10 a.m., everyone is welcome and encouraged to join them in this student-led function beginning in front of Church Row.
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“This is such a prevalent event currently and we are looking to gain supporters and marchers for March 24,” Herendeen said. “This is not about guns, this is about our lives. Lets make a stand and start fighting for our youth.”
“I know that we are a small school from a small town on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,” Ching, said. “We don’t have any major courthouses or organization head quarters to influence, but we will march because we wholeheartedly stand with those who are suffering due to lack of gun regulations in this country.
“Florida, we see you suffering and we will stand with you 100% of the way to make sure that our lawmakers and politicians can not overlook this issues,” Ching continued. “We are the children of this country and we deserve to be heard, and we deserve to feel safe. Yes we are kids, yes we understand and yes, we will bring the change.”
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“I think that though this issue affects students greatly, we often don’t get a say when it comes to reforming outdated laws and creating new restrictions to protect us,” said Callender. “Not enough is being done to end the pattern of gun violence, and I feel so proud of my generation for taking a stand and using this opportunity to make a change for the better.”
The students urge all community members to join them in the fight for gun control and to visit their Facebook page, “March For Our Lives Waimea.”
National School Walkout Guidance can be found here and on Big Island Now.
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For some Hawai’i students, sending hopes and prayers to the students and families affected by the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is not enough.
