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Upon hearing the news about Chief Allen’s arrest, East Coweta 2025 seniors texted in a group chat and organized a “walk out.” All the seniors decided to mark the event to begin at 12:30 p.m. after our second lunch ended.
When walking down to the field, there were various members from County Office making sure the group was organized. All of our assistant principals, Dekima Daniels, Lee Heaberlin, JR Revere, Roc Coleman, Kristi Lanave, and Kristin Harris, were out at the event and were in full support of what message we were trying to relay: Chief Allen has supported every student in their worst and never fails to let them know he loves them, now it’s our turn!
Upon arrival to the event, there were over 750+ kids packed in the stadium. The chant that began at the start was “drop the charges” which further lead into “free chief” and then concluded with “chief, chief, chief, chief!” During the rally, a staff member at East Coweta, Dennis Edwards, was speaking on the microphone and informed us Chief Allen had a message from his home to us.
Chief then said “hey guys, I love you! Y’all be good, stay strong, we’re going to make it through this” and then applause erupted in the stadium and Chief came back on and said “go back to class for me now, I need y’all to get in there and rock and roll!”
I felt like participation in this rally was dire to the reputation of East Coweta High School. We are a very large school and people love to talk. When the news about Steve Allen began to make its way to the public, the reputation of not only our school, but our principal, began to heavily diminish. Organizing and participating in a rally such as this showed everyone that we stand behind our principal and we value our school!
East Coweta High School’s valedictorian, Dylan Soutter, was one of the key organizers, along with “Indian Boy” Colin Davison. We did not face any repercussions, in fact, various staff members were in support of the walkout and were moved to tears at what our school was doing, organized entirely by students. Moreover, most staff members were in attendance at the rally! I am a senior at East Coweta High School!! Thank you again!
Hunter Huddleston
Senior, East Coweta High School
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