Too Young to Vote, Old Enough to March
Story and Photos by MELISSA MCCARTHY
Across the nation, young people are mobilizing behind causes they care about — Bellingham included. High school students in the area have formed the group Students for Action to organize their voices, and marching boots, to make a change, since they are not old enough to vote. From school walkouts to meeting with legislators, these students are creating a future they can survive and thrive in.
Maggie Davis-Bower
Age: 17
Pronouns: She/her/hers
High school: Squalicum
Year: Junior
Future career: Marine molecular biology
Hobbies: Tennis, piano, cross country
Wants to reform: Gun control, mental health care and education
Maggie is an example of how one person can have a profound impact on their surroundings. After she heard about the Parkland shooting in February, she felt she needed to do something — anything — to make a change. She posted on Instagram to see if others felt the same.
“I don’t have much of a social media presence or anything, so I didn’t expect it to go anywhere,” she said with a shy smile. She wanted to gauge if anyone would be interested in participating in a school walkout. That night, around 25 people showed up to her house to discuss how to make that idea a reality, many of whom she was meeting for the first time. This group became Students for Action, with members from all four high schools in the area dedicating themselves to speak out for issues they are passionate about, but can’t vote on. Within 48 hours of the post, approximately 2,000 students walked out of those high schools in solidarity with the Parkland victims.
Maggie’s desire for gun control reform stems from her past experience with gun violence. She survived the Burlington Cascade Mall shooting in 2016 during her freshman year. A gunman stormed the Burlington Macy’s, killing five people while Maggie and her mom were shopping. They were able to hide under a clothing rack and escape.
“Witnessing something like that has a huge impact on you,” Maggie said. “Immediately, I felt a lot of grief and a lot of guilt. It’s really hard to understand and process why I was able to leave and other people weren’t. I mean there’s no answer, but you always want to try and search for an answer that you’ll never find.”
This had lasting effects on her. Loud noises similar to gunshots retraumatize her and she’s always on alert in public spaces. Because of her experience with surviving gun violence, she related to and was inspired by the activists who survived the Parkland shooting.
“They didn’t even take time to grieve,” she said of the Parkland students. “They just went right into it because they cared so much. They were really inspiring to kids all over the country.”
Maggie said she never really dealt with her own trauma, but seeing other students show the strength to mobilize after an equally distressing instance gave her the motivation to stand up for what she believes in.
After the walkout, the Students for Action decided there was more to be done. They raised money through fundraising and donations so every member of the group could travel to Washington, D.C. for the March for Our Lives.
“The march was incredible,” Maggie said. “There was this endless expanse of people all there for the same reason, and the speakers shared these intimate stories of how violence has shaped their lives. It was really intense, but it was also motivating.”
While the group was at the Capitol, they had the opportunity to speak with legislative aids about the changes they wanted to see and how to make them a reality. After Maggie returned, she joined the Riveters Endorsement Committee, a group that works with local government. It is currently in the process of drafting questions for midterm candidates. Students for Action is also planning a voting registration day at Bellingham high schools.
Maggie can’t wait to register to vote, but in the meantime, she has to register for the SAT.
“SAT registration is actually due today and I have not done it yet,” she said with an exasperated laugh. She explained that balancing school, extracurriculars and activism activities keep her extremely busy. “It’s a lot of time, but it’s really cool the way I am spending my time, because I feel like I’m doing meaningful things.”
Mehar Singh
Age: 16
Pronouns: She/her/hers
High school: Squalicum
Year: Sophomore
Future career: Vocal performance or political science
Hobbies: Choir, orchestra, piano
Wants to reform: gun control, LGBTQ+ and gender equity, immigrants’ rights, education, mental health care
Mehar formed an immediate bond with Maggie when Students for Action was formed, because she too had a close call with a mass shooting. When she was 11, living in Wisconsin, Mehar and her family were on their way to temple. Mehar’s parents are refugees from Kuwait and went to the Sikh temple every Sunday. On this day, the temple was targeted by a gunman. The gunman killed six people and then himself before Mehar and her family arrived. Though she compartmentalized it at the time, she said this experience helped shape her views surrounding gun control reform, racism and equal rights.
Maggie and Mehar bonded over their shared experience of narrowly escaping a mass shooting. “But gun violence affects everyone,” Mehar said. “Not just the victims, not just the people around them — everyone.”
The Parkland students inspired Mehar to become politically active. “They turned their grief into action,” she said. “And I realized, that’s something I can do too.”
With that in mind, she joined Students for Action and helped to organize the walkout and subsequent trip to D.C. Mehar is dedicated to banning assault rifles, calling them “weapons of war” with bullets that are designed to be fatal. She would also like to see the age to legally buy a gun raised to 21 instead of 18 and to see bump stocks banned. She was able to speak with legislators in D.C. with some of her peers about these changes. Along with that, Mehar and her group members are advocating for the destigmatization of mental health care and making a mental health education class required for graduation in Bellingham high schools. Mehar also encourages people to vote every chance she gets. In fact, since delving into social and political movements, she’s had results with getting her own mom to more frequently fill out a ballot and telling her friends to do the same.
She said before Students for Action, she never really talked about her temple being the target of a mass shooting. Because of the comradery she’s formed with her group and the goals and ideals they share, she has been able to talk about it more openly.
“It’s been really emotionally draining,” Mehar said. “But I know that sharing my experiences is really important so people can see that this is not an issue that affects a few people. It affects everyone and it’s really important that we keep fighting, because people are dying.”
Destiny Elizabeth
Age: 15
Pronouns: She/her/hers
High school: Bellingham
Year: Freshman
Future career: Psychologist
Hobbies: Dance, musical theater, performing arts
Wants to reform: Gun control, mental health care access and education
When Destiny observed the media frenzy post-Parkland shooting, she said she felt numb. She joined Students for Action in the hopes of putting an end to school shootings. While her family was supportive of her participating in Students for Action, they did not echo her worldviews. Destiny acted independently in pursuing a group of like-minded young people to make a difference with.
“My family has kind of the other side of my beliefs,” Destiny said. “But it’s helped me to have discussions with people who don’t see my view.”
Destiny said her and her group members encounter these kind of discussions a lot. Some people sing praise of their accomplishments and others have sharp criticisms — especially on social media.
“Social media has helped us a lot — it’s how our group was formed,” Destiny said, referring to Maggie’s Instagram post that prompted the first meeting. “It’s also helped us reach out farther than our schools or friend groups. But we also get a lot of hate comments.”
Destiny said she’ll receive comments making the claim that her and her group members are being puppeted by adults who want them to believe certain things, or that they don’t know what they’re talking about. Destiny said this criticism is hard to hear, but that it just isn’t true. These voices are often accompanied others, in which people are labeling her and her peers as the future and telling them the work they’re doing is important, so she tries to focus on this more positive feedback. She said she stands by what she believes and commits to having her voice heard in these discussions.
Another difficulty Destiny faces is her age. She has three more years before she can register to vote. “That’s how you change things — voting. We want to change things but it’s kind of in the hands of everybody else.” That’s why Destiny joined Students for Action in speaking to legislators and organizing demonstrations, because it’s the only way she knows she can voice her standpoint on these issues.
For now, though, she has to focus on her studies. “We missed a lot of school organizing and going to D.C.,” she said. “I’m actually surprised I have the grades I have.” Students for Action members have transitioned some of their political planning meetings into study nights to support group members in their activism as well as their studies.
Destiny said she’s thankful for the support of her group members in her studies and as they navigate the current political landscape together, and encourage others to do the same. “Everybody does something different and brings something to the table that makes them special or that can change things,” Destiny said. “So just make sure your voice is heard and make sure you do things that you believe in.”