Justice League and ASB Hold Parkland Memorial

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Justice League and ASB Leadership held a memorial on Thursday, Feb. 14 for the victims of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which took place exactly one year prior.

According to ASB vice president and co-chair of Justice League Hallie McRae, a “ghost desk” was placed in the quad near Mercer Hall to honor the victims of the Parkland shooting. This gesture was inspired by road cyclists’ use of “ghost seats” to honor deceased riders, McRae said.

According to McRae, students were encouraged to bring flowers to the desk.

In addition to the ghost desk, 17 pairs of shoes were placed next to the desk to represent each victim of the shooting, McRae said. Additionally, students and teachers took a 17-second moment of silence during fourth-period announcements.

According to McRae, voter registration and pre-registration booths, statistics about gun violence and descriptions of gun safety and background check laws were supposed to be set up, but inclement weather caused these aspects of the memorial to be postponed to a later date.

McRae said that the goal of the memorial was to “honor and remember [the] 17 people [who] died in the school shooting,” as well as work toward more gun control to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The memorial attempted to introduce students to the reality of life in America today, McRae said.

“It’s better to be prepared and know what’s going on in the world and do as much as we possibly can as students to change it, so we don’t have to continue to live in fear of coming to school and there being an active shooter,” McRae said.