Nearly 300 students at Canyon Del Oro High School with the Amphitheater School District walked out to the football field to pay tribute to those lives lost in Parkland, Florida in February on Wednesday morning.
It was a powerful message from a generation that has had enough.
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Students at Canyon Del Oro high walkout to pay tribute to the lives lost in Florida and show their fight against gun violence #WalkoutWednesday pic.twitter.com/Acxx8aXbDX
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) March 14, 2018
"We thought it was incredibly important to stand up now that we are old enough, ready to use our voice and we're going to speak up for our community and communities across the nation," says CDO student, Hope Hisey.
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The high school did something different - They put 18 minutes on the clock, with one life lost at home and 17 lives lost in Florida.
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The one life was for Oro Valley's very own Christina-Taylor Green who was killed on January 8th, 2011.
"Students in Tucson remember the day of January 8, 2011 when our friend and classmate was killed outside of Safeway. We were not old enough to speak to lawmakers, understand political processes and to speak out but we saw more communities devastated," says CDO student, Rebecca Shanks.
The students say they are the right people to handle this situation because they know what it's like to go to school in fear.
Students believe this country has normalized mass shootings, they say, it's time for change.
Hisey says, "being part of something that is greater than ourselves and stand up for the country that's going to be put into our hands in a couple of years."
"We will do something. We, the students are the future of this country." pic.twitter.com/1bFTXjbkpJ
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) March 14, 2018
Administrators at the school say they're proud of the student led protest. The most important thing was to ensure students safety while exercising their right.
"We decided to give them a venue and as long as they kept it safe and respectful this is what we're going to do," says CDO Principal, Tara Bulleigh.
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