INDIANAPOLIS -- After two recent school shootings, students across the United States are demanding change. Thousands of students are taking their demands to Washington, D.C. for the March For Our Lives protest.

About 30 students from Indianapolis left Friday morning to head to D.C. for the protest, which begins Saturday at noon.

Students from the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting spearheaded the march. The purpose of the protest is to honor the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting, and to call on lawmakers to take action against gun violence in schools.

"I definitely think mental illness needs to be addressed in a different way," said Sarah Jacobs, one of the local students traveling to Washington, D.C. "A lot of the times when you see these tragedies on the news, people say, 'Oh we saw signs, but nobody did anything beforehand.' I also think it should be harder access for people to get guns."

Saturday's rally will include performances and speeches from entertainers, including Ariana Grande and Hamilton's Lin Manuel Miranda. More than 800 similar protests will take place worldwide.

An Indianapolis protest is planned between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday outside the Statehouse downtown, but it can be moved inside, weather permitting.

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