Holding signs advocating for an end to gun violence, the University of Florida’s Students Demand Action chapter combined with the Alachua County chapter of Moms Demand Action on campus Friday for a national “Walkout for Safer Schools.”
It was a personal connection that brought out Victoria Stevenson, a UF grad student who is not currently a member of the student club. Stevenson was a fourth grader in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 when another school in her hometown, Sandy Hook Elementary, became the site of one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
“Gun control and gun violence issues are pretty close to my heart,” Stevenson said. “Even though we’re so used to seeing it on our phones every day, it’s still very real and could happen to anyone. Just continuing to talk about it, reaching out to policymakers and talking within your local community… you have to start somewhere.”…