Washington, D.C. took on a massive crowd for the Women’s March last year and now it’s preparing for another historic rally. March for Our Lives, an anti-gun-violence rally, is expected to bring about 500,000 attendees to the D.C. area on Saturday.

Syracuse University’s Student Association is organizing buses for students to attend the protest.

The rally was organized by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead on Feb. 14. The mission of the March for Our Lives rally is to demand legislative action from Congress on gun violence and school safety issues.

Buses sponsored by SA will leave Syracuse early Saturday morning to arrive in time for the event at noon. More than 100 SU students are expected to attend the rally on the buses, in support of the movement. Before attending the event, here’s what you need to know:

If you go

What: Washington, D.C. March for Our Lives Rally

Where: Pennsylvania Avenue, between 3rd and 12th streets NW in Washington, D.C.

When: Saturday, March 24 from noon to 3 p.m.

Where are the entrances?

North: Indiana Avenue and 7th Street, NW

South: Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, NW

West: Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street, NW

East: No entrance

Accessibility and car drop off area: 7th Street and Maryland Avenue, SW

What not to bring

• Weapons of any kind
• Animals other than service/guide animals
• Backpacks and bags exceeding size restrictions (18 inches by 13 inches by 7 inches)
• Bicycles
• Balloons
• Coolers
• Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems
• Selfie sticks
• Signs exceeding the restrictions (20″ x 30″ x 1/4″)
• For a complete list, visit the March for Our Lives website.

What’s the weather going to be like?

The National Weather Service is calling for a mostly sunny day with a high of 49 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to get to the rally

By foot: Use any of the entrances listed above

By car: For those driving, be wary of increased traffic and closed streets throughout Washington, D.C. in anticipation for the rally. Parking is available at all metro stations as well as around the National Mall.

By ride-hailing service (e.g., Uber, Lyft, etc.) or cab: There is a drop off area located at 7th Street and Maryland Avenue, SW. From this location, attendees can walk on 7th Street toward the National Mall and use the southern entrance for the rally. Lyft is offering free rides to people who attend March for Our Lives rallies in D.C. and other cities across the country.

By metro: All metro stations will be operating fully on Saturday except for Federal Triangle and the 441 entrance of Judiciary Square. For functioning metro stations, trains will start running at 7 a.m. and will run more frequently than usual — end-of-line trains will run every eight minutes and downtown trains every three minutes. The closest station to the rally is Archives on the Yellow and Green lines.

Metro tip: Buy your metro card and load it with money before you leave for the rally. Metro stations on Saturday will be crowded and lines to make card transactions will be long.

By bus: SA buses will drop people off at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, which is located near the Stadium-Armory metro stop, so attendees can take the Blue, Orange or Silver lines into the National Mall area from there.

Services available during the rally

Water stations, food trucks, bathrooms and first aid tents will be located throughout the National Mall area for attendees of the rally. In case you or someone in your party gets separated from the group, reunification services will be available at RFK Stadium.

Published on March 23, 2018 at 11:49 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann