Protesters of all ages gathered in Newark’s Military Park to march in conjunction with the March for Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C. on March 24.
Over 1,000 protesters gather in Newark for ‘March For Our Lives’ (@RobRomanonews77) – https://t.co/vji0SNhstu pic.twitter.com/lUop1Ll4qj
— FiOS1 New Jersey (@FiOS1NewsNJ) March 24, 2018
Montclair State University’s associate French professor Kathleen Loysen attended with the members of The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair.
“I’m marching for my kids’ lives,” Loysen said. “There needs to be more universal background checks and taking money out of politics.”
Montclair State French professor Kathleen Loysen and Abu Bakar support the
members of The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair.
Fiorella Medina | The Montclarion
According to the March for Our Lives website, there were 845 sister marches worldwide.
Before protesters could begin their march, students from Marlboro High School gave a moment of silence for the 17 students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School while handing out posters to different people in the audience of one of the 17 students’ names.
“Today we march for the #Parkland 17 and for the 13,000 children lost to gun violence every year. We march because our broken government has enabled this entirely preventable massacre.” — Sarah Baum, #Newark march organizer and #Marlboro HS senior #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/J0n6DzcZ3b
— Svetlana Shkolnikova (@svetashko) March 24, 2018
Sarah Baum, a senior at Marlboro High who helped organize the Newark march, gave a speech to the protesters before walking.
“We march because the mass shootings are on the rise, but Congress has not changed a single legislation in 20 years,” Baum said.
Others are marching for the exhaustion of repeated history.
“I was just entering my first year of high school the year after the Columbine tragedy,” said Emily Vanderberg Ng, a business analytics master student at Montclair State. “That was nearly 10 years ago now, and I have sat on the sidelines and watched tragedy after tragedy occur. This time around, I have been inspired by the young people in our country to step off of the sidelines and stand with them in one voice marching for change.”
Students from a Newark high school stop in the middle of the March for Our Lives movement to play music. #MSUstudentvoice #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/ifNvyjkUFT
— The Montclarion (@TheMontclarion) March 24, 2018
The generation of today is the reason Vanderberg Ng marched and hopes government officials take this event into consideration when they decide what to do with gun laws.
After marching, protesters gathered back at the park and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the crowd.
“We must continue to hold Congress’ feet to the fire, and we must never give up the fight,” Murphy said.
A child holds anti-gun posters in each hand as he marches the streets of Newark.
Fiorella Medina | The Montclarion
Many all over the world, like Vanderberg Ng, hope that there is a change that comes with this march.
“I think it would be unwise to turn a deaf ear to the concerns of our children,” Vanderberg Ng said. “Our children are now fighting for change, and sometimes change is necessary and sometimes change is good and sometimes that change is worth fighting for if it means that it will have a positive impact and save the lives of many.”
