Chaparral, Hamilton students stage class walkout on third day of nationwide demonstrations

Hundreds of Chaparral and Hamilton high school students walked out of class Friday on what was the third day of demonstrations across the U.S. in response to the massacre last week at a Florida high school.

The demonstrations at the Scottsdale and Chandler high schools follows staged student walkouts at a handful of Phoenix-area schools Wednesday and Thursday and ahead of what is likely to be more Arizona student protests planned for the coming weeks.

Thousands of other students across the U.S. also walked out of school, either in protest of gun violence or in solidarity with the victims of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

As they walked Friday, Chaparral students chanted, "No guns at our school," "We want change," and "Protect our kids and not our guns." Hamilton students chanted, "What do we want? Gun control. When do we want it? Now."

MORE: Texas district threatens to suspend students who take part in walkouts

Katie Salaway, a 17-year-old Chaparral junior, helped organize the walkout.

"I can't be scared to go to school," she said. "Something has to change."

'What is happening is not OK'

Students at Chaparral said they were told that those who were not called out as absent by their parents would be suspended if they did not return to class immediately upon returning to campus at the conclusion of the march. This was denied by a Scottsdale Unified School District spokesperson.

At least 300 students met on the football field and marched along Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. The students were getting honks of support from drivers on Shea Boulevard.

The school had organized a silent march and 17 minutes of silence, one for each person killed in Florida. Students at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale took part in a similar demonstration at 10 a.m. Friday.

The observation at Chaparral lasted only five minutes. The students felt something off campus with a walkout would be more impactful.

Because it's the students who are getting killed.

"I don't feel safe and I don't feel like anyone is doing anything about it," student Isabella Yadav said. "They just tell us it's going to be OK, but they don't take any action to protect us."

Survivors of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, have been confronting lawmakers in recent days to demand safe schools and an end to gun violence.

"If what happened at Florida happened at my school, I would be as vocal as they are, because what is happening is not OK," Salaway said.

'No one felt safe'

Last week, an 18-year-old student at Chaparral High was arrested after police say a gun was found in his car parked on school property.

Jory Weiss, 16, expressed frustration Friday.

"I spoke one week ago at the district board meeting. Nothing has happened," Weiss said. "We were horrified about what happened in Florida. If no adults can make a difference, then it's time for us to stand up and have a voice."

Weiss said the principal wouldn't let some of the students leave campus and tried to stop them.

"No one felt safe going out for our fire drill two days ago," Weiss said, adding that they weren't sure if it was an actual drill or something else.

Police say the Florida school shooter pulled a fire alarm to lure students out of their classrooms before the massacre began.

Madison Harris, 17, a Chaparral junior, said she felt like their voices were being heard Friday.

“We definitely drew out a giant crowd of students, all with the one goal of spreading the message that we need change.

“Every other car that drove by would either honk, wave or give us a thumbs up for support. That really motivated us to stay loud and keep moving.”

Senior Aleksia Mikalacki said she had never seen so many teenagers united for a common goal.

"I think it was very empowering for us to know we are making changes, and we can be a part of something bigger," she said.

Check back with azcentral.com for updates.

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