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Student Organizers Talk March For Our Lives Asheville

Matt Bush BPR
Jessica Villatoro (left) and Elizabeth Leonard (right) are two of the many organizers of Saturday's March For Our Lives Asheville

Thousands are expected to march Saturday across the U.S. against gun violence as part of student-organized 'March For Our Lives'.  These marches came together following the shooting last month at a South Florida High School that killed 17 people.  The Asheville 'March For Our Lives' starts Saturday morning at 11 at Pack Square.  Students from across Western North Carolina helped put it together.  Two of the many organizers - A.C. Reynolds High School seniors Jessica Villatoro and Elizabeth Leonard - stopped by BPR's studios to discuss why they're marching, their thoughts on gun control and arming teachers, and what they've learned about themselves and their generation as they organized the march.  

Matt Bush joined Blue Ridge Public Radio as news director in August 2016. Excited at the opportunity the build up the news service for both stations as well as help launch BPR News, Matt made the jump to Western North Carolina from Washington D.C. For the 8 years prior to coming to Asheville, he worked at the NPR member station in the nation's capital as a reporter and anchor. Matt primarily covered the state of Maryland, including 6 years of covering the statehouse in Annapolis. Prior to that, he worked at WMAL in Washington and Metro Networks in Pittsburgh, the city he was born and raised in.
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