Jared Kaufman ran out of a University of Wisconsin-Madison library last week to call his brother.
Kaufman, a senior, was writing a paper when he found out about a shooting at his alma mater, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — the same school Kaufman’s brother attends.
“Hearing that phone ring was so scary,” Kaufman said. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to pick up or not, you know? It’s not good to think about the worst, but you never know. Luckily, he answered. I said, ‘What happened?’ He said, ‘There was a shooting, more shots than you can even imagine,’ and that he was safe.’”
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Seventeen people were killed in the shooting last Wednesday at the high school.
Kaufman was one of several alumni of the high school that spoke Wednesday night in Madison at a vigil and march honoring the victims of the shooting.
They talked about Parkland, how it’s time for policy changes and the people they knew who died, including two Kaufman said he knew.
“Change starts with us, you know, we’ve got to stop sitting around and doing nothing,” Kaufman said. “We’ve got such a powerful voice. We’re so fortunate, and it’s time we make the necessary changes in our America so this never happens again.”
About 100 people stood close together on UW-Madison’s Library Mall listening to speakers.
Jordan Madden, a UW-Madison junior, organized the vigil. He said this event was about solidarity, and what he’s seen is people are looking for change.
“Thinking about the next steps of what we do next in order to make sure that this doesn’t become a cycle of thoughts and prayers and then a lull where nothing happens and no one is talking about gun violence or gun violence protection,” Madden said.
Once the speakers concluded, attendees walked silently up State Street to the state Capitol.
Since the shooting, there have been rallies across the country.
Students who survived the shooting marched to the Florida state Capitol on Wednesday to call for action on gun control and mental health in Florida. Locally, Madison high school students spoke at the Capitol on Tuesday calling for more gun control, and Madison high school students are also planning a walk out on March 14 to demand legislators take up control.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 with additional reporting.
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