Northwest Arkansas Students Protest

This morning when classes were to begin, dozens of Decatur students stood their ground refusing to go to class. They demanded answers from Superintendent Mike Parrish. The issue began last Thursday when the resource Officer Jeannie Yates was taken off the Decatur campus. The Chief of police Terry Luker decided the problems between Officer Yates and the superintendent got too bad. Chief Luker says Officer Yates isnt allowed to do her job properly and gets a lot of interference from the superintendent. Students rallied together voicing their concerns about campus safety. They charged into the superintendents office demanding answers. Student Traci Mullins said,"They dont want to admit it but there are gangs here. We had a student jumped this year by the gang and they didnt do anything about it." The students gathered signatures from parents on a petition demanding an emergency school board meeting to discuss the problems on campus. They must gather at least 50, so far they have around 40. While there is currently no resource officer on campus, the police department says they will be available to the campus at any time. Chief Luker also added he hopes to get the situation remedied so an officer can be back on campus as soon as possible. Superintendent Parrish says he is making no comment. The school has not suspended anyone for failing to attend today`s classes.