Stephen Decatur High School students and members of The Worcester County Young Democrats, from left, Isabel Emond, Jenna Miller and Zach Davis, helped to raise more than $2,000 to pay for a bus trip to Washington D.C. for the March for Our Lives demonstration set for Saturday, March 24.

Fifty-five students, teachers will bus to Washington, D.C.

By Kara Hallissey, Staff Writer

(March 22, 2018) Local high school students who are members of The Worcester County Young Democrats have been raising money on a Go Fund Me page since Feb. 19 to pay for a bus trip to Washington D.C. for the March for Our Lives demonstration set for Saturday, March 24.

“We really wanted Worcester County represented,” said Isabel Emond, a junior at Stephen Decatur High School and president of the organization. “This is something every student is very passionate about right now. We want to feel safe at school and not be afraid to go to a park or a museum or a concert. It needs to happen now.”

In 22 days, the group raised $2,080, which allows for 55 students and teachers to take a coach bus to the march.

“The bus is already filled with passionate people interested,” Emond said. “Everyone needs to show up. It is such an important march and it’s going to be huge, with 500,000 people expected.”

Jenna Miller, treasurer of the Worcester County Young Democrats, observed that many people in Worcester County are conservative, including many parents.

“That is the main reason why we wanted to make it free,” Emond said. “Nothing should hold people back from marching for their own life.”

The March for Our Lives movement was created by students across the United States following last month’s mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The organization’s position is that students are refusing to risk their lives waiting for the government to act to protect schools from these kinds of attacks.

“When the Bill of Rights were written, we didn’t have assault rifles and you don’t need them for hunting,” Emond said. “It is so easy for a kid still in high school to get them. Kids have been a little on edge and stressed out. We all have an equal right to go to school without a shooting happening.”

The club has about 17 members and it meets every other Wednesday at 5 p.m. upstairs at the Globe in Berlin. The next meeting is on Wed., March 21 to make signs for the march and to talk about safety.

“We always hear young people don’t care about politics or getting involved,” Emond said. “This shows people we do care and can make a difference. We are marching to represent young people in Worcester County.”