Following the events of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Students across the nation rose up, fighting for stronger gun control. Students from Southside participated in the national school walk out on March 14, a month after the shooting, and stood in solidarity for seventeen minutes to honor the lives lost in Parkland Florida.

Students from Fort Smith and neighboring towns participated in the March For Our Lives on March 24. Community members conjugated on the steps of town hall to speak on the importance of gun control.

“It was a privilege for me to help organize our rally in Fort Smith because the students in Parkland are creating a very pivotal movement in our history. It was everything for me to be able to be apart of that,” student organizer and senior, Kirk Linam said.

With over 200 community members and students in attendance, the march proved successful to show local lawmakers the overwhelming call to action for gun control.

Due to the amount of new student voters, speculation shows that the gun control impact will impact future elections. While the march honored the parkland students, the main purpose was to register students to vote in the upcoming local and state elections.

“Participating in the March For Our Lives has been the most empowering moment in my life thus far. Knowing that I was standing up for what I believe in, despite the many people around our city, and even our school, who oppose [gun control] it filled me with a sense of pride I can’t even begin to explain,” junior, Lauren Haydon said.