ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WTVF) — A number of students at Antioch High School voiced their grief and frustration with an organized walkout and rally outside the school.
The shooting less than a week ago left two teens dead, Dayana Escalante, 16, and the shooter himself.
I was outside the school for the emotional day speaking with parents and students, noticing the day culminated in a school-sanctioned rally after a full day of protests and frustration.
At the rally state, lawmakers promised to file bills and keep fighting for students' safety.
Covenant school parents promised to stand in solidarity with Antioch. Students themselves took the microphone to call for change. The first day back in school since the shooting started as emotionally as it ended.
“I don’t feel comfortable. I don’t feel safe,” said Antioch freshman Alana Lewis.
She and dozens of other students walked out of school in protest, dressing in red in honor of Dayana.
“We’re speaking up for the people who can’t speak for themselves,” said Lewis.
With her peers, Lewis wanted to go to school but not if it meant putting her life at risk.
She stood with signs outside school grounds asking to be taken seriously and asking for more security and mental health measures.
“I just don’t wanna be back on school property, knowing what happened and knowing it could very easily happen again to any of us,” said Lewis.
Parents came to pick up kids on the side of the road, choosing to take them home instead of signing them back in after protesting.
“They’re scared to come to school. They don’t feel protected by the school system or the government here,” said parent Ronnie Moore.
The student body's hearts are with Dayana who can no longer speak.
But these voices from teenagers to grown professionals are asking to be heard, hoping to inspire change out of the frustration at Antioch High School.
“It’s a cry for help. It’s a verbal cry for help saying, ‘Please pay attention to us. Please listen to us listen to our signs. We do matter’,” said parent Shaquille Brooks.
Despite the emotions surrounding the return to school, the district stuck to their dismissal and tardiness policies.
They tell us that's why students who participated in the early morning protest could only return if a parent signed them back in.
We were told most of the students who went to school today took part in the planned activities.
