Parkland shooting survivors bring ‘Vote for Our Lives’ tour to USF Sarasota-Manatee

The day-to-day buzz of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Student Commons amplified Tuesday afternoon when several students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School stepped through the doors.

Carrying boxes of t-shirts, buttons and bracelets, the students set up among the couches and tables in the cafeteria. As USF students walked by, they were greeted by survivors of the shooting at the the Parkland school out on the Vote for Our Lives fall tour and spoke about voting.

The tour, part of the March for Our Lives movement, is making stops at several universities to get students to the polls.

For Andrea Anchorena, a junior at USF from Sarasota, it was a little like meeting her heroes in real life. She came to USF Sarasota-Manatee with plans to be a lawyer but after watching the students involved with March for Our Lives, she decided on a social sciences major.

Now, Anchorena is motivated to be a politician and participates in student government on campus as a senior justice.

Anchorena thought it was “wonderful” the Vote for Our Lives student representatives were on campus encouraging other young people to vote. Their visit, she said, motivated her to vote even more.

She plans to vote on Election Day.

“I want to make an impact, show we are stronger together and that young people will make a difference,” Anchorena said.

A black bus with “Vote For Our Lives” plastered on the side was available outside to take USF Sarasota-Manatee students to the Supervisor of Elections Office.

“We’re here just to inspire young people to go out to vote and make sure to take political change and that’s either through voting using your absentee ballot if they’re from out of state or if they’re registered here on campus going to early voting or making sure they vote on Nov. 6,” said David Hogg, who survived the school shooting and has since emerged as a leader in anti-gun activism.

Many USF Sarasota-Manatee students who spoke with the Bradenton Herald after meeting the Vote for Our Lives representatives said they either already voted or were already planning on voting Nov. 6. Other than Anchorena, most didn’t know in advance that the March for Our Lives tour was stopping at their campus.

Outside, a group of USF Sarasota-Manatee freshmen said they were surprised to find the Vote for Our Lives tour in their cafeteria and found themselves having a conversation with Hogg, much to the excitement of Rocio Mohorte-Ford.

One of the freshmen, John Cotter, said he was part of the March for Our Lives march in Tampa and spoke with the Vote for Our Lives students about his participation and interactions there.

Cotter said he grew up going to a school in Tampa with metal detectors at the entrance that every student walked through before going inside. He said he feels safe on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus.

Standing near him, Mohorte-Ford, a business major, disagreed. Admittedly, “very anti-gun” she said she feels it’s too easy for people to get guns, in general.

Mohorte-Ford is from Washington, D.C., and said she went to the March for Our Lives at the nation’s capital, calling the movement around the experience “inspiring.”

When Hogg walked outside the glass doors to talk to Mohorte-Ford and Cotter who were standing with Reilly Farr and Angel Kiederling. Mohorte-Ford said she started shaking and her voice started cracking while she thanked him for coming to campus.

Hogg briefly told them about the Vote for Our Lives mission and encouraged them to get everyone they know to the polls.

While talking to Hogg outside the student commons Mohorte-Ford said she thinks there are more young people talking about voting.

The stop at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus came between events at Ringling College of Art and Design and a barbecue at Siesta Key Beach.

“We’re engaging young people, because voting, for years, not many young people have gone out and voted but voting can be fun. And we like to show that by doing these block parties,” said Vote for Our Lives student Kristen McConnell.

Ryan Deitsch, a former MSD student now with Vote for Our Lives, said while they were on the Sarasota campuses, they didn’t notice many political signs and some they talked to didn’t know who was running for office. Their goal was to get people excited and engaged in voting.

“Talking to people about the importance of civic engagement in their communities and how you can have a large impact in your city and in the country just by getting your voice heard,” Hogg said.

This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 6:06 PM.