Time Magazine ranks five Parkland students among its 100 Most Influential People in 2018

Five Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students were named among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2018 Wednesday.

They were just teenagers navigating life in a suburban high school prior to Feb. 14. But turning to gun control activism after Nikolas Cruz's shooting massacre that killed 17 and injured 15 put Jaclyn Corin, Emma González, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky and Alex Wind on Time's annual list. They share space with a group that includes CTE research doctor Ann McKee, actress Nicole Kidman, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, comedian/TV show hosts Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel, President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping.

Former President Barack Obama wrote the accompanying essay on the Parkland quintet, whom Time listed among the "Pioneers."

"The Parkland, Fla., students don't have the kind of lobbyists or big budgets for attack ads that their opponents do," Obama wrote. "Most of them can't even vote yet.

"But they have the power so often inherent in youth: to see the world anew; to reject the old constraints, outdated conventions and cowardice too often dressed up as wisdom. The power to insist America can be better.

"As these young leaders make common cause with African Americans and Latinos — the disproportionate victims of gun violence — and reach voting age, the possibilities of meaningful change will steadily grow."

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Time Magazine ranks five Parkland students among its 100 Most Influential People in 2018."