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Florida PTA Arranges Statewide Vigils To Honor Douglas Shooting Victims

Participants in the vigil at Betti Stradling Park in Coral Springs brought candles and signs.
Odalis Garcia
/
WLRN
Participants in the vigil at Betti Stradling Park in Coral Springs brought candles and signs.

Monday night's rain was not an obstacle for more than a hundred people who showed up at  Betti Stradling Park in Coral Springs, just five minutes from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to participate in one of the several candlelight vigils organized by the Florida Parent Teacher Association (PTA) around the state to honor the victims of the Parkland shooting. 

“We're all hurting. Home is where the heart is, but now, in Coral Springs and Parkland, home is where the hurt is for us," said Andrea Venkatesan, who was born and raised in Coral Springs. "This is a time for us to grieve and come together, share in our values and our rage and turn our pain into passionate protest.” 

Speakers included the mayors of Parkland and Coral Springs, local religious leaders and the president of the Florida PTA.

Jasmine Makkar, 15, is inspired by all the rallies led by people of her generation. “Even though we're not 18 and we can't vote, kids can make a difference,” she said.

Her friend, Courtney Sheflin, 16, agreed with Makkar, saying that their generation has to make adults in their community know how serious they are about the issue of gun control.

Courtney was there with her mom, Christine Sheflin, who wants specific changes made.

“I hope that comprehensive measures are put in place, not just gun control but mental health, improvement in school security, improvements in background checks and I am looking for an assault weapons ban,” said Sheflin

The night ended with a reading of the names of the 17 people killed.

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Odalis Garcia is a recent graduate from The New School in New York City where she majored in Journalism with a minor in Religious Studies. Through that she found a love of storytelling. People have so much to say but there are some who are kept quiet or not allowed to have a seat at the table. Odalis hopes to use her work and her words to allow these voices to tell their stories in a fair way. Odalis also spent her time managing the social media for her college and her school's newspaper. It's always the best excuse to have Twitter and Instagram open at all times.