On Jan. 24, UNC Chapel Hill March For Our Lives published an op-ed in over 50 student newspapers nationwide. This initiative was part of a larger movement to garner national attention towards the rise of gun violence in recent years.

March For Our Lives is a youth-led coalition that aspires to eradicate gun violence. The group formed in 2018 after a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida took the lives of fourteen students and three faculty members. Since then, it has coordinated countless protests and rallies for gun control legislation across the United States, gaining recognition from March For Our Lives National, the Oregonian, and NPR radio. Most recently, its efforts have resulted in the passage of over 300 anti-gun violence laws, including the Biden-Harris administration’s National Office of Gun Violence Prevention Act. The bill, among other things, established the first federal gun violence prevention office.

“We [refuse] to accept a world where guns kill more kids and young people in the United States than anything else,” March For Our Lives declared in its mission statement. “We aim to create safe and healthy communities and livelihoods where gun violence is obsolete.” 

Aside from organizing nationwide demonstrations, the group also promotes safety and security in the community.

Junya Liu, a sophomore at Fremd High School and the co-leader of Palatine’s March For Our Lives chapter, details the group’s previous undertakings. 

“Locally, we have led rallies in 2021 and 2022 centered around the mental health crises in District 211,” Liu said. “Furthermore, we have engaged with local organizations such as the Kenneth Youth Center and WINGS to create a tangible change in our local community for those most affected by systemic oppression.”

However, the organization wanted to do more before additional lives were lost. 

Liu credits this desire as the inspiration behind its recent op-ed, written entirely by youth activists. 

“With this op-ed, we were focused on proactivity rather than reactivity; we needed to draw attention to gun violence prevention without a shooting having to occur,” Liu said. “Standing shoulder-to-shoulder as a student coalition 144 strong, we published an op-ed in 60 student newspapers nationwide—for the first time in history.”

The piece, aptly titled “We will not wait for the next school shooting,” is an empowering call for action—one made by a coalition that is both bloodied and exhausted yet willing to fight for a brighter future. 

“We believe that our country has the capacity to love us back. There are bullet shaped holes in our hearts, but our spirits are unbreakable… So as students and young people alike, we should know our words don’t end on this page—we will channel them into change,” March For Our Lives said. 

The group has more events planned in the upcoming months, including hosting a WINGS drive to combat domestic violence and a voter registration drive.