Students at Chapel Hill High School staged a walkout this week to protest gun violence and call for action, in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting at a Texas elementary school that left 21 dead.

Thursday’s action at Chapel Hill High was part of a national walkout organized by Students Demand Action. Other local actions are likely to follow; for one, students are reportedly planning a walkout at East Chapel Hill High School next week.

Thursday’s walkout at CHHS lasted 21 minutes, one minute for each of the victims at Robb Elementary School.

97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck spoke with CHHS senior Grace Davis, one of the organizers of Thursday’s walkout. Listen:

 

Aaron Keck: What are your thoughts about the shooting that happened on Tuesday? How have you been handling it, how have you been processing it?

Grace Davis: I think it’s (been) desensitized a little bit for me, just because it’s happened so many times now. It’s definitely still shocking and really, really sad. But I really do hope that this is the last time. We always say that, and we always say “enough is enough,” and then nothing gets done. And I would really like to see actual change happen.

Keck: What are other students saying?

Davis: A lot of students are a little bit surprised that so many celebrities and government officials are coming out and finally saying the things that we’ve been saying for so long – how we don’t need thoughts and prayers, we need action and stricter gun laws. So we’re really hoping that by having this national walkout today, we can continue to voice our opinions – and get the ball moving on actual action, instead of just “thoughts and prayers.”

Keck: Are there specific actions that you and the other students are calling for?

Davis: As high school students, it’s hard to really push for specific bills. But we’re encouraging all students to register to vote and to show up to the polls this election season, (and) contact our Senators, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, and all of our House Representatives in the state, to really encourage them to take action and draft those bills and vote for them and continue to push for stricter gun laws and more school safety.

Read statements from CHCCS superintendent Nyah Hamlett and Orange County Schools superintendent Monique Felder, in response to Tuesday’s shooting.

Keck: Just on a day to day basis, do you feel safe in school? Do you feel comfortable?

Davis: It depends on the day. Sometimes we have fights or threats made, (but) I appreciate our school’s efforts to combat a lot of them. We have a hotline, it’s a national hotline, where you can report (things) and local police and administration will be notified. (It’s) called Say Something, and there are a bunch of posters about that around school, that help encourage students to speak out and speak up.

But other than that, we don’t have too much. There are a bunch of doors around the school that are kind of left cracked open or unlocked. Students are always coming and going out of doors they’re not supposed to, just to access the student parking lot easier. And I definitely feel like those doors could be either monitored more, or just kept locked and unopened during the day.

Photos courtesy of Grace Davis.


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