We first want to say thank you. Thank you for looking around and taking the step to change the future. For all of you that participated in the March for Our Lives, thank you. Now, the question stands, “What can we do next?”

If you want to see the change that you marched for, you need to engage in active activism.

But what is active activism? Today, we have people raising their voices above the fray more than ever before but, how will their voice enact change? Sometimes, words aren’t enough to communicate the true issues within society, especially nowadays where social media platforms allow almost anyone to speak up. It’s the actions that speak louder than the noise.

During Oak Park High School’s campus-wide walkout on March 14, we were given the opportunity to see activism, live in the works. Some people did take an action-oriented step by registering to vote. With similar national walkouts, the general public might mistake a large protest as being the one and only solution to the issues at hand. However, when activism stops after the protest, those so-called activists are not giving movements such #TimesUp or #NeverAgain the attention that they deserve.

We are not saying don’t utilize your right to free speech and free assembly, but rather we are reminding you to utilize those rights everyday. Don’t put your posters down and stop your chants the day after a protest, instead put them aside and pick up your pen, or, open your computer, or pick up your phone.

To put active activism in perspective, we can take a walk down memory lane to see the spike in activism which takes place surrounding catastrophic events — ranging from school shootings, to police brutality, to sexual aggression.  People go home and post pictures holding protest signs with a caption along of the lines of “Take action.” However, not much action was taken.

Perhaps this is changing since the focus of the recent marches involved a push for voter registration.

We have to look toward the teenagers of the #NeverAgain movement. If we want change to happen, we can’t stop after a march. The march is not what going to make the change; the change comes from constant pressure on those who create legislation.

We regularly see activists in modern media. For instance, the TIME’S UP movement has brought a lot of attention toward the issue of sexual assault. In the past, we have seen similar actions from numerous activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai and Julia “Butterfly” Hill. They all advocated for a better world and didn’t give up until they got results.  

Consequently, their words and actions will reverberate for generations to come.  

What can you do now?

There are many ways to make a difference if you are willing to keep working. Each of these steps involves action beyond the march, and fuels the message of the march with action. This includes pre-registering to vote and then actually voting. Instead of making the Instagram post that says call your senators, call your senators and demand action. Write letters to governmental officials and big corporations to apply pressure.

We encourage everyone to be brave and share their stories no matter their social media followings, political views or even socioeconomic status. It is the responsibility of the general public and of future generations (that means us) to speak up and draw attention to important issues like gun violence, protecting the environment and equality. And not just to draw attention, but to apply action to the issue to create some change.

Consider people like Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks who supported and advocated for stricter laws regarding the purchase of military-style firearms in the Ventura area. Parks made a formative step in the grander scheme of gun control. She took action.

A high school student, Emma Gonzalez, took a stand after the Parkland shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida saying, “Adults are acting like children” when it comes to addressing gun control. She took action helping to organize walk-outs and marches.

Gonzalez and Parks are two everyday heroes who we should look up to, regardless of whether we agree with their ideas. These two exemplify active activism. They don’t just Tweet, they don’t just march, they act. They make their cause a part of their everyday lives.

Students at Oak Park are lucky to be in an environment where all views and opinions are valued, so it is up to people here to speak up for those who are not in such progressive atmospheres. We cannot simply join a protest or movement because it is in the news. We need to be the change we want to see — daily. Those changes come in different forms, but in the end, change is the result of focussed action.  

We need to initiate action and be assertive; no more waiting around for others to be the leaders we imagine being. It is our time to make our nation a better place for all.  It is our time to act.