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McGuire had a message for politicians who believe they can skirt around the issue and \"think that doing nothing is acceptable.\"

\"My thought is that, if you do not do something, you do not have a prayer of being elected,\" she said. \"My generation will see to that.\"

'We've all been bullied'

On the morning of May 18, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis allegedly opened fire into multiple classroom, killing eight students and two teachers.

Pagourtzis' father, Antonios Pagourtzis, likened his son to a victim himself, describing him as a \"good boy\" who was \"bullied at school\" in an interview on Monday. Dimitrios Pagourtzis' attorney, Nick Poehl, also told ABC News on Monday that students had informed him that Pagourtzis had been bullied.

\"PHOTO:
KTRK
PHOTO: First responders work outside of Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018 after a shooting.
>

The students mostly declined to answer questions about the alleged gunman or the lawsuit filed against the Pagourtzis family, but they were adamant in saying that bullying is not an excuse to shoot up a school.

\"We've all been bullied,\" Butler said, adding that she herself experienced a \"really rough\" period of bullying in eighth grade.

While Butler said it's essential to \"be nice to everyone around you no matter what,\" she emphasized that, in the context of the shooting at her school, \"This is a mental health issue.\"

\"Everybody that's bullied doesn't shoot a school,\" she said. \"This shouldn't be, 'Oh, he was bullied. He's a victim.' He made victims.\"

McGuire said that, without speaking on behalf of the alleged gunman, \"Bullying is not an excuse, at all.\"

Returning to the scene

Classes at Santa Fe High School will resume on Tuesday, and the students are looking forward to resuming their routine and seeing their friends and teachers, they said.

Butler said seniors were given the option to not return, but she has made the decision to go so she can have closure.

\"I don't want that day to be the last day I ever set foot in my high school,\" she said. \"But, also, I'm worried. I'm kind of scared.\"

McGuire said she's worried about her safety when she returns on Tuesday and for her senior year in the fall.

\"It will be a very emotional process,\" she said. \"I'm glad I get to see my teachers and friends at the school. It's been very hard to see them and talk to them in a way that isn't rushed.\"

\"PHOTO:
Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP
PHOTO: People gather by the Barnett Intermediate School where parents are gathering to pick up their children following a shooting at Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas.
>

The students suggested that metal detectors, more school resource officers and having a licensed therapist on campus -- rather than just counselors who are trained mainly to help students get into college -- could contribute to a safer school environment.

McClinton described the Santa Fe students as \"inspirational, dedicated and passionate leaders\" who are destined to \"create change.\"

\"Change is coming,\" McClinton said. \"Children are dying.\"

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