Math teacher Mr. Joseph Galante said that what is happening in U.S. schools is “just messed up.”

“School is a place to learn,” said Galante. “Not for this kind of violence, or any violence at all.”

On Friday, May 18th, the city of Santa Fe, Texas, was struck with a school shooting that killed eight students and two teachers. The shooter, a 17-year-old student at Santa Fe High School opened fire at 7:30 a.m.

Junior Amanda Bowman expressed frustration about the trend of school shootings around the country.

“I’ve stopped becoming surprised at this point,” said Bowman. “I heard that 10 people died. No one should have to go to school and worry that they won’t come back.”

The shooting comes three months after another deadly school shooting. The Parkland shooting in Florida became one of the deadliest school shootings in American history, surpassing the Columbine school shooting back in 1999.

The shooting has sparked controversy with the people of Santa Fe. While the responses from the shooting have called for major gun control legislations, others have claimed that guns are not the problem. According to the article, “A High School Shooting in Gun Country,” from The New Yorker, some people believe that factors such as religion not being taught in schools is to blame for school gun violence. Sally Challis, a woman from Santa Fe who works at a pawn shop, was interviewed about what she thought caused gun related issues in schools.

“To tell you the truth,” said Challis. “… kids have gone crazy since they took God out of schools.”

As a response to the shootings, gun-control activists have been planning to hold a “National Die-In Day” in Washington, D.C. This protest would be held on the second anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, on June 12. Protests have also been scheduled in cities such as New York and Honolulu.

When asked about the protests, sophomore Sophia Mailhoit talked about her conflicted feelings on the subject.

“I support protesting for more gun-control,” said Mailhoit. “But I feel like they could have named the protest something better. Calling it a ‘die in day’ is kind of insensitive in my opinion.”

It is yet to be determined if any major federal gun control laws will be passed as a result of the protests. In Florida, a new gun bill was passed in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. The bill raised the minimum age to buy any type of gun from 18 to 21. The bill also banned bump stocks, which are devices that can make guns fire faster. While progress is being made in Florida, Texas has yet to make any kind of change regarding gun policies. When asked whether she thought any new gun laws will be passed due to the backlash, Mailhoit seemed doubtful about anything changing.

“I mean this has happened so many times in our country,” said Mailhoit. “If we haven’t been able to change our laws after all this time, will they ever change?”