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Article Courtesy of Local 10
News -- ABC
By Roy Ramos
Published November 1, 2018
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PARKLAND - It is a community that experienced one of the worst school shootings
in U.S. history, but Parkland's strength rose above, with its residents coming
together after 17 people were killed in February at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School.
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In the weeks and months that followed,
memorials grew outside of the high school and throughout
nearby neighborhoods, with residents posting signs with
messages like "Parkland Strong" and "#MSDStrong."
"It makes them feel positive. It makes them feel supported.
Why should something like that be taken down?" said Donna
Ali, whose daughter is a student at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas.
However, Ali said that is exactly what her homeowners'
association at Parkland Golf & Country Club wants her to do.
Ali's neighborhood has about a dozen Parkland Strong signs
dotting the front lawns of houses.
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"In keeping with the memorial plans, the community
relations committee is asking residents that have shown solidarity with the
MSD family by placing memorials in their yard to take them down by Nov. 15,"
board members wrote in an email.
For Ali's family -- especially her daughter, Ariana -- the signs stand for
much more.
"She did lose one of her friends, and a couple of other friends were
injured," Ali said.
After Ariana took to Twitter with outrage for being told to take down the
sign, her mother received another email, which referred her to someone else.
"He said that is just one of the bylaws, that we need to take down lawn
signs," Ali said.
It's a rule that Ali said should be changed, considering what their
community has experienced and what the Parkland Strong signs signify.
"Why should we take down a sign that shows support for a community and for
the tragedy that they all went through?" Ali said.
Ali said someone from the association informed her the community was working
on a permanent memorial somewhere in the development.
Board members from the Parkland Golf and Country Club sent a news release
Thursday to Local 10 News, stating the signs will now be allowed to stay up
until the permanent memorial has been completed. They said they had not
received any complaints or concerns from residents about the signs, but
heard from a handful of MSD students on Wednesday.
"The board immediately decided to suspend the removal request until the
permanent memorial is complete as our community does not want to bring any
additional pain to anyone, especially an MSD student," the news release
stated.
The memorial is expected to be completed by February.
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