Education secretary Betsy Devos' visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has left students and teachers disappointed after claims she dodged questions.
Ms DeVos was visiting the Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people, which triggered survivors to start a nationwide protest against lax gun control laws in the US.
One of the prominent voices of the stricter gun control movement, Emma Gonzalez, was among students who dismissed Ms DeVos' visit on Wednesday.
"Good thing I was already planning on sleeping in tomorrow," Ms Gonzalez wrote on Twitter.
Ms DeVos visited the school on its first full day of classes since the shooting and some were looking forward to questioning the education secretary on school safety.
But students and teachers took to Twitter and the media to express their disappointment after claims she did not speak to many students or answer their questions.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks at a news conference following a visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Source: AAP
"It was a publicity stunt, really. There was no point to it," 18-year-old senior Alyson Sheehy told TIME magazine.
"I kind of expected that to happen, but it's still frustrating that she made the trip out here and made it a big deal but didn't do anything."
Kyra Parrow, a senior and editor/photographer for the school's local newspaper, was one of the students covering Ms DeVos' visit to MS Douglas High School on Wednesday.
Mr Parrow said Ms DeVos only answered a few questions and did not sit down with the students during her visit.
"Secretary of education Betsy Devos spoke to me and only a hand full of students. She did not properly answer my only question. She did not sit down with any students and asked what we wanted. Douglas has 3,000 students. None of them were invited," Mr Parrow tweeted.
English teacher Melissa Falkowski was also let down by the visit and questioned Ms DeVos' motives.
"I feel like a lot of people have used what happened for their own personal agenda and that sort of felt like that," Falkowski told TIME.
While Ms DeVos' visit was panned, Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade was praised for a surprise visit to Parkland where he sat down with the students and asked important questions.
Wade called for stricter gun control following the tragedy on Valentine's Day and has since shown support for the students and victims.
On Wednesday, Wade praised the students' courage for their protests that have swept the nation.
"I just wanted to come and say I'm inspired by all of you, as someone out here in the public eye I am proud to say I am from this state because of you guys ... MSD Strong all the way," Wade told an adoring crowd.
Share
