At noon on May 11 at least 100 students walked out as part of a statewide walkout organized by Students Demand Action. The McCallum-specific walkout was organized by junior Teddy Ibsen.

“It was kind of last-minute,” Ibsen told the Shield the day the walkout took place. “I had only decided to do this yesterday, and this morning I put up flyers.”

Ibsen said the purpose of the walkout was to demand action and show solidarity.

“We’re in the state capital,” Ibsen said. “We can’t just let this opportunity to help and demand action slip away. It was to show solidarity in the fight for gun control and regulation. It was important to demand action from our state representative, especially because of the House Bill 2744, which [would raise] the age of buying a semiautomatic weapon.”

Advocates for HB 2744 were elated when it advanced out of committee thanks to two Republican votes in its favor, but hope for it passing ended when the bill was not added to the agenda in time for it to be considered by the House.

Sophomore Eden Acosta remembers Ibsen saying, “we could be next.”

“Not that long ago I was in class and I got a random wave of anxiety,” Acosta said. “I thought someone could come right now. I was freaking out. Then I was like, ‘Oh, let’s calm down. It’s fine.’ I was sitting there and I was thinking about how, I think I was like the 23rd day of 2023. There were already like, 40 mass shootings? Twice the number of days. That’s insane.”

“I didn’t know how many people were going in and how many people were going to take it seriously,” Acosta said. “I had just come from a school where they were not on that side. I was in art class. The girl next to me was like ‘Are you going to walk out?’ and I was like ‘Yeah.’”

Freshman Nayeli Azul joined the walkout after seeing a poster. This was Azul’s first walkout.

“I wanted to support student organizers, especially because this was a Texas-wide walkout and in general people across Texas don’t always agree politically,” Azul said. “It was important to support [the walkout] in order to make change.”

Although some students saw the posters, many didn’t and so they weren’t able to participate.

“I don’t think it was effective at all,” sophomore Scarlet Logue said. “I think there were many flaws in the planning mainly because it was last-minute. So many people who would’ve participated couldn’t because of the AP testing so it wasn’t nearly as impactful as it could’ve been. Not many people knew about it, so it’ll be swept beneath the rug.”

Students pushed the walkout to be silent due to AP testing, but despite its lack of volume, many found it powerful. Azul said that one of the most impactful moments during the walkout occurred when everyone was asked to lie down in memory of everyone lost to school shootings.

“I felt empowered, like we as youth can make actual change in our community,” Ibsen said. “That our voices matter, even with the semi quiet protesting we did.”

Although some students felt empowered, junior Zephan Mayeda felt underwhelmed.

“I would have loved to see marching, chants, speeches, lists of phone numbers to call senators, names pictures and birthdays of the victims, flyers promoting the protest days weeks or months even in advance, mass absences, an actual walkout for those who can’t not go to school that isn’t just 20 minutes of sitting,” Mayeda said.

Despite these reservations, Mayeda said he still felt drawn to participate to protest the lack of gun protection in the country and the state.

“Children are dying due to the government’s apathy and corporate lobbying against any action of any kind,” Mayeda said.

To continue their activism, Ibsen wants to start a club that focuses on current issues and civil disobedience. They saw the walkout as a call to action for many.

“I would like to say that youth voices can be heard,” Ibsen said. “You can look up what state district you’re in, and email or call your official and urge them to vote the way you want. You can also join protests at the capital, demanding action. No voice is too small to be heard.”