by Emma S.

March 9, 2020

On February 12th, just two days before the two-year anniversary, ABC released After Parkland, their documentary on the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Massacre. Directors Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman show how the survivors of the school shooting took action against gun violence, and how their push for change led to an international conversation. 

For most of the documentary, Victoria Gonzalez tells the story of her relationship with one of the victims in the shooting, Joaquin Oliver. She recounts the different memories with him that she holds close to her heart, such as the first time they met. Oliver’s best friend, Dillon McCooty, also told the camera about what an amazing man he was. The two stick together, protecting each other. At the first MSD recreational basketball game, Gonzalez came with a number two painted on her cheek, Oliver’s old basketball number. Oliver’s father, who is also the coach, approached McCooty and asked for him to play as number two in honor of his fallen son. This part of the documentary was incredibly touching because of how easy it was to put myself in the shoes of one of the spectators, and maybe even one of Oliver’s old friends.

When the tone of the documentary shifted from grief to anger, David Hogg was introduced. Hogg is one of the more well known survivors from the Parkland shooting due to his impressive social media and news presence. Hogg expresses his anger with the government’s stance on firearm access by taking his opinions straight to the White House. Hogg and several other Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students hosted the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC only a month after the shooting. 

Sam Zeif, another past MSD student, tells the story of February 14th, 2018. He explained how he feared for his life and the lives of his brothers, who were also MSD students. Similarly to David Hogg, he directed his anger and sadness towards President Donald Trump. Zeif was invited to the White House for a conference a week after the shooting. Here, he sat with the parents of Rachel Scott, the first Columbine victim, and the mother of a Sandy Hook victim. Zeif cried to President Trump about the insanity of the state of gun control, that no citizen should have access to war weapons, let alone at the leisure someone like Nikolas Cruz had. 

After Parkland was filmed powerfully and with intention for striking up the conversation once again for change. After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, and after Parkland, it is difficult to keep fighting for stricter gun laws. As a high school student, I fear the possibility of my school becoming the next Parkland. It is often that conversations during class develop into different tactics and plans of what to do in an instance of an active shooter on campus. With 47 mass shooting cases and a total of 6,766 deaths related to gun violence so far in 2020, it is time for change.