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Sophomore Jillian Nichols created the March for Our Lives (MFOL) Club at Elizabethtown College.
According to MFOL, the organization was formed after the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
In March 2018, the first annual March for Our Lives was held, and it stirred up a great deal of media attention.
The Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement had inspired the march and followed similar paths.
After the initial march, chapters – branches or clubs across the United States – sprang up rapidly with more people wanting to take a stand.
Some of the key areas MFOL helps foster are voting registration around the country and reminding citizens why it is important to vote.
The organization is primarily youth taking a stand and making a change.
The idea to form a chapter of MFOL on campus came to Nichols over the past summer.
“I kept seeing in the news shooting after shooting, and it really bothered me. I wanted to get involved and find a positive environment to channel all of my anger and fear,” Nichols said.
Starting out, she used the E-town Jays app to see if there was any interest for a MFOL Club on campus, and she received many messages.
She then began the process of making it an official club on campus by finding officers, members and an advisor.
Nichols is the president of MFOL here at the College, and Dr. Matthew Fritz is the advisor.
The officers worked together in writing the club constitution and then went to Senate, where there was paperwork they had to fill out as a club to become official at Etown.
The only challenge Nichols faced was waiting for all the paperwork to go through because it took a little while.
Ultimately, it was completed, and MFOL is now a club at Etown.
As a new club, it can be challenging getting word around campus, but Nichols plans to have MFOL quite involved.
Feb. 14, MFOL will have a flower sale with the profits going towards CeaseFire PA, an organization advocating for gun safety.
Along with the flowers, Nichols plans to have paper hearts on which students can write messages, either in honor of a victim, voicing their opinion or anything else they would like to write.
Furthermore, she hopes to include anyone interested in going to the Rally Day in Harrisburg, March 25.
It is a day where people have the opportunity to meet with policy makers and let their voice be heard.
Every club has goals for each semester, even if minor, and each club uses them to drive their agenda.
“Our goal is to create peaceful dialogue all over campus. We also want to advocate for better gun laws, and encourage voting, because that is where the difference can be made,” Nichols said.
MFOL is something Nichols said she is really passionate about and wants to do all she can to make a difference.
“It’s exciting I get to be part of this moment, which, is I feel, one of the biggest historic developments of this generation. Plus [MFOL] is run by young people, and it’s amazing seeing their momentum is still flowing,” Nichols said.
However, nothing is free of challenges.
Nichols wants to open up to the public, but she is a bit concerned, given Lancaster County is majority Republican.
If it comes to going public, she and the officers discussed emphasizing the club only seeks peace.
“We are here for peace and only voicing for our lives,” Nichols said.
