Never Again. San Clemente Students Plan April 20th Walkout

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — It's been 19 years since two students attacked Columbine High School, heavily armed, killing 12 students and one teacher. On Friday April 20, the 19th anniversary of that mass shooting, student activists from across Orange County will rally at Bill Barber Memorial Park and march to City Hall to advocate for Congressional legislation to address gun violence.

"Students are calling for Congress to institute universal and comprehensive background checks, increase budget allocation for school safety, fund the Center for Disease Control’s research into gun violence, and implement a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to counter the proliferation of guns nationwide," student organizer, and senior at San Juan Hills High School, Olivia Fu said.

The Friday rally will take place at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606, and will feature speakers and performers, the majority of which are students. Marching to city hall.

SOC4CHANGE began when a few students from South Orange County high schools met at a local Starbucks to share ideas for walkouts on our campuses.

"We currently have 30 students involved with the planning and leadership of SOC4Change," Fu said. "Participants from Saddleback and CapoUSD schools are coming."

Though it is encouraging to the students that adult leaders are listening, and taking positions to help, there has still been no tangible legislative change. At San Juan high school, Fu and others remarked on the Parkland, Florida Stoneman Douglas High School survivors, and how their activism has encouraged South Orange County students.

"We just want to thank them," Fu told Patch. "They took a horrible situation and took a stance, and have been so inspiring to us. Considering the trauma they have gone through, it is inspiring how vocal and courageous they have been."

SOC4Change does not have a specific agenda for the upcoming march.

"We are non-partisan, and are honoring school shooting victims, demanding change," she said.

The Irvine location for the rally will highlight California's Representative Mimi Walters’ involvement in the gun lobby and what they see as her lack of support for comprehensive gun control laws. According to a Washington Post investigation, Walters received a total of $4,000 indonations from the National Rifle Association from 2013 to 2017.

“In the 45th district, we are worth 14 cents in the eyes of the NRA. That is how much money that Mimi Walters receives from the NRA divided by the number of students in the district. This is unbelievable and unacceptable. I want to change that,” said senior Kate Finman, one of the SOC4Change organizers.

From there, the idea for SOC4Change developed, and their motley group turned into an organization encompassing students throughout all of OrangeCounty. The members of SOC4CHANGE are dedicated to youth activism and motivating their peers to wield their significant political power. They vow to be the generation that finally reaches the goal expressed by the hashtag #neveragain.

Photos courtesy: Margaret Wold-Sackey, Dana Hills High School