The Civil Rights Act. Apartheid. Tiananmen Square. The Velvet Revolution. Arab Spring. The Dream Act. March For Our Lives. Black Lives Matter. These movements have been led by student activists. Their goal is for the public and government to hear them. They want their voices to be heard.

Unfortunately, I have never had the oppurtunity to participate in a march or protest led by student activism, but I have had the oppurtunity to watch coverage on some recent marches in Washington D.C. and to research other events. The power, the passion, the anger that these students have is inspiring. The activism is not just practiced in public; there are many on social media who use their accounts to spread love and to educate others on event happening around the world and how they can help.

With the rise of school shootings, there has been a rise in protests and student activists voicing their opinions to Congress. They state facts and tell the stories of those who have perished from gun violence. One student that has been very vocal about her opinion and actively protests is Emma Gonzalez. She is a student at Parkland, the high school in Florida in which 17 students were killed. These students were her friends, her classmates. Gonzalez used this event and instead of mourning over it, she created a platform for herself and others from Parkland to vocalize why gun violence should be stopped. They have been able to share their stories in public and have had a front cover story in Time. Florida has since changed the age restriction to purchase a gun. Many others across the nation are joining the fight for gun reform, including politicians on Capitol Hill who hope to contirbute to stricter gun reform.

The Dream Act and Black Lives Matter are two other youth-driven groups that are hoping to send a message across to the public and inform others. Those involved in these groups have held protests and are fighting for themselves and those who cannot. DACA helps keep those brought to the US illegaly as children in the country, where they have been raised and are pursuing a career that their parents wanted them to have access to. Some of those recipitents can not fight for themselves as they fear being arrested and/or deported, so the activists have been fighting on their behalf by educating others on DACA. Those involved in Black Lives Matter fight against violence towards people of color and are trying to prevent police violence and discrimination. Both groups are made up of mostly youth whose goal is to educate the public and voice their opinion to the government.
I believe that the passion of students and youth has, and will, change our future for the better. These events go to show that youth all around the world will vocalize their opinions so the world can hear them, to change the topic at hand for the better.