I heard about the kidnapped Nigerial schoolgirls through an Instagram my friend posted with images of the girls and a caption describing their situation. I do support the #bringbackourgirls tag.

Maria, 17

I didn’t hear about the kidnapped girls until our We’Ced meeting, though after I noticed it on the news. I saw that the #bringbackourgirls tag has been used over one million times. I support getting the girls back home but not the hashtag.

Robert, 19

I didn’t hear about the kidnapped schoolgirls until our We’Ced meeting. I actually do not support #bringbackourgirls because I feel like people are not posting it for the right reasons or to help out but instead for attention and to try to be cool since it’s become such a huge thing.

Lisbeth, 17

I first heard about the tragedy during our We’Ced Youth meeting. I was surprised that this had been going on for nearly a month ago and I had not heard of it. I feel that action should be taken in an attempt to bring back the girls. However, I do not believe that drastic or dramatic actions should be taken by just the United States. It is simply unethical for the United States to be involved in every international matter; other countries must also take action.

Benny, 18

I heard about the missing Nigerian school girls from Instagram, I noticed several people I follow were posting pictures showing celebrities with a #bringbackourgirls sign or using the hashtag.

Natalie, 18

I heard about the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls through my sister, she watches a lot of CNN. I later caught bits and pieces of the story on social media and different news channels on my own. I support the efforts of those actively trying to return the girls to their homes and families and going to the Nigerian government and demanding some sort of action, but I have not taken any initiative by posting #bringbackourgirls

Alyssa, 21

Tags: #bringbackourgirls, activism, boko haram, nigeria, spotlight